LONGO BORGHINI Elisa

General
NEVER LOOKED BACK
She knew she wanted pursue cycling as a professional career after securing bronze in the women's road race at the 2012 World Championships in Valkenburg, Netherlands, but she had to come to an agreement with her parents first. "The first time I thought I could maybe become a good cyclist and make a living out if it was after I won a medal in the world championships in Valkenburg in 2012. I asked my parents if I could focus on cycling for three years and give everything. I wanted to become somebody. I would go back to studying if it didn't work out after three years. That's the deal I made with them. I knew it would be very difficult because cycling is really hard. I call it the iceberg effect. From the outside you can only see the top of the iceberg, but below the water, there is much more. I don't regret my choice and have never looked back." (develo.cc, 07 Aug 2019)

APOLOGY
She and British rider Elizabeth Banks crashed with 34km to go at the 2019 Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne in Belgium, and Longo Borghini was then filmed throwing Banks' bike away in anger. She completed the race in 82nd place, but Banks was not able to finish as a result of the crash. "It was done in the heat of the moment and I was very frustrated because the bikes would not untangle. It was unacceptable and I am truly sorry. I would never intentionally cause damage to someone else or their property." (cyclingmagazine.ca, 28 Mar 2019; stickybottle.com, 28 Mar 2019)

She became the first female cyclist representing Italy to win the Tour of Flanders for Women in Belgium when she triumphed in the 2015 event. (trekbikes.com, 08 Aug 2018)