Elisa Longo Borghini to return at Kreiz Breizh and GP de Plouay ahead of 2025 Worlds bid

Elisa Longo Borghini will make her comeback to racing next week as she begins her final build-up towards one of the biggest goals of her career, the World Championships in Rwanda.

The UAE Team ADQ rider has not raced since abandoning the Tour de France Femmes in late July, when a gastrointestinal illness forced her out in the opening stages. That setback came just days after she secured her second overall victory at the Giro d’Italia Women, underlining both her form and her resilience in 2025.

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According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian will line up at Thursday’s Kreiz Breizh Elites Féminin before moving on to Saturday’s WorldTour Classic Lorient Agglomération, better known as the GP de Plouay. The latter is a race she knows well, having won it in 2021, and it often serves as a key rehearsal for riders eyeing the rainbow jersey.

Once her French racing block is complete, Longo Borghini will head to Mount Teide in Tenerife for an altitude camp. The focus is fully on the hilly road race in Rwanda, a parcours she has openly described as ideal for her strengths. “It’s a parcours, the one in Rwanda, that really suits my characteristics, so I would really like to be in good shape there,” she told Cyclingnews earlier this year. She added with a smile: “I’d love, once, maybe it’s a dream, who knows, to win the World Championships. Dreaming is for free.”

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The Italian federation is backing her ambition with a stronger squad than initially planned. While Italy qualified for the maximum quota of seven riders, they had been expected to send only four because of the logistical costs of racing in Rwanda. That number has now been revised up to six, giving Longo Borghini more support against deep line-ups from the Netherlands and France.

The final selection has not yet been confirmed, but options include Soraya Paladin, Silvia Persico and Marta Cavalli, all experienced performers who could play vital roles in helping Longo Borghini chase a first women’s elite road race title for Italy since Elisa Balsamo triumphed in 2021.

With a Giro title already secured this season, Longo Borghini now turns her attention to chasing the one prize that has eluded her long career, the rainbow jersey.