Elisa Longo Borghini has been sidelined from racing her favourite home event Strade Bianche due to a recent illness. Trek-Segafredo will announce the full roster on Friday but confirmed that Amanda Spratt and Elisa Balsamo will lead the team at the 136km race in Siena on Saturday.
“No Strade Bianche for me this year, as I fell sick this morning… Aawww, my favourite race… I’ll be cheering for my Trek-Segafredo teammates from the sofa!” Longo Borghini wrote in a post on social media on Thursday.
Trek-Segafredo later confirmed that Longo Borghini is experiencing flu-like symptoms and will take time to recover before resuming her targets during the Spring Classics.
“Due to light flu symptoms, unfortunately, Elisa Longo Borghini won’t race on Saturday. Tomorrow the team we’ll be able to confirm the final roster for the race, that will have Amanda Spratt and Elisa Balsamo as key riders,” the team wrote in a statement.
Longo Borghini’s absence from the Italian Women’s WorldTour race marks the second key home contender who is unable to start after FDJ-SUEZ announced that they removed Marta Cavalli from their roster two days ahead of Strade Bianche. Cavalli will observe a period of time away from racing to continue her long-term recovery from serious injuries she sustained from a horrific crash at the Tour de France Femmes last July.
Longo Borghini has enjoyed a successful start to her season, winning stage 3 and the overall title at the UAE Tour Women in February. She went on to finish 10th at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad last weekend.
She was a favourite contender among the peloton, having won the race in 2017 and has stood on the podium in three other editions.
Trek-Segafredo have yet to confirm their full roster, but both Spratt and Balsamo have proven early-season form and will also be among the contenders during the race across white gravel roads throughout Tuscany.
The race will finish along the steep climb of the Via Santa Caterina and into the Piazza del Campo in Siena.