‘Chapeau, they were the bravest’ – Elisa Longo Borghini congratulates winning breakaway, takes time to reflect on poor performance at Rwanda Worlds

“It’s pretty clear what happened. Everyone was looking at each other, and we lost the race,” Longo Borghini told the assembled press in the mixed zone.

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“Besides this, we should give credit to the ones who were in the front and who were the bravest because they made a move, and they believed, and they succeeded.”

The winning breakaway split off the front of a reshuffling lead group in the closing lap of the elite women’s 164.6km road race held on a 15.1km city circuit that included two brutal climbs: Côte de Kigali Golf and the cobbled Côte de Kimihurura.

While the field split apart behind the trio, they were roughly a minute ahead of the main group, which included major favourites: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (France), Longo Borghini and Demi Vollering (Netherlands), all looking at one another, none taking responsibility to either close the gap or make a move of their own.

“Instead, we were a bit stupid, a bit silly, controlling each other and thinking that we would come back in the blink of an eye,” Longo Borghini said.

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“In the end, they were strong riders up front. I think we underestimated their strength and the fact that they are top-level riders. Chapeau to them.”