The emotion can be read in her eyes, the smile is covered by the mask: Elisa Longo Borghini is the face of happiness after the bronze – the second after Rio de Janeiro – won in the women’s cycling race in Tokyo. “I am happy to give this victory to my Italy”, are her first words. And then he adds a dedication: «In June during the Giro d’Italia I had a difficult moment, this medal is for my parents, my grandchildren and my boyfriend who have always been very close to me and supported me. I ran with them in my heart. I like to put my head down to work without making big claims ».
Longo Borghini also analyzed the surprise race won by the Austrian Anna Kiesenhofer: «It was a painful race, dictated by the climate that was unkind towards us and by a lot of tactics – said Longo Borghini – in fact I believe that the Holland thought they had the situation in hand, but the winner anticipated all of them ».
Annemiek Van Vleuten thought she had won at the finish, she did not believe that the Austrian Anna Kiesenhofer, who won gold with an unimaginable number, was resisted.
“In my small way I am happy to have made a good result for Italy, when I wear the national team shirt it is always an extra stimulus, I thank the Italian national team for their support during this week, the Fiamme Oro-Polizia di Stato and the Trek Segafredo with which I run all year ».