Giro d'Italia women's winner Elisa Longo Borghini announced on X (formerly Twitter) that she will miss this Monday's (August 12) Tour de France Femme Avec Zwift due to residual effects from a training crash last week. Although she did not break any bones, the Italian cyclist said she is currently unable to ride her bike because she "left a lot of skin on the road surface."

She added, "It's frustrating not to be able to compete with my teammates for the great Tour."

Longo Borghini has had her share of peaks and valleys in the last two French Grand Tours; in 2022, she played a key role in the race, finishing sixth overall. However, in 2023, after crashing out of the Giro d'Italia women's race, she returned to the Tour de France women's race, but again had a tough year when a skin infection forced her to retire before stage 7.

In 2024, Longo Borghini decided to prioritize the Giro d'Italia and won the overall on her home soil. Following her victory, she competed in the Olympics and was considered a dark horse candidate for the Tour de France.

The Lidl-Trek team enters the Tour de France Femme with Gaia Lealini and Shirin Van Unrooy as overall leaders. The team also includes Lucinda Brand, Amanda Spratt, Elisa Balsamo, Lizzie Deignan, and Ellen van Dijk.

"Gaia and Shirin will have the opportunity to see what they can do in the overall class. Lucinda, Lizzie, Spratty, and Ellen will bring a wealth of experience," Lidl Trek sport director Jeroen Brilevens said in a team statement

." Overall, we are a truly balanced team, with all riders having the strength to win in different ways." "And everyone is excited about the challenges ahead." "

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Balsamo will look to win the first two stages, but will have to contend with sprinters Charlotte Kuhl (DSM-Filmenig Post NL), Lorena Wiebes (SD Walks-Pro Time), and Marianne Vos (Visma-Ries A Bikes). [The 26-year-old Italian rider surpassed Kool in the Bruges des Pannes Classic, beat Vos in the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana this spring, and outpaced both Wiebes and Kool in the first stage of the 2023 Simac Ladies Tour.

Balsamo, Deignan, and Van Dyke represented their countries in the Olympic road race on August 4, with Deignan placing 12th, the highest of the three. Van Dijk also competed in the Olympic time trial, finishing 11th.

Meanwhile, Brand, Spratt, Lealiini, and van Ambrooy attended a high-altitude training camp in Andorra before assembling in Rotterdam.

"After a big win in the Giro d'Italia Women's, we head into the Tour de France Femme. Lidl-Trek always sets big goals and goes into a race with the ambition and ability to win. However, in the last two years, luck has not been on his side and he has not achieved the results he should have. This year I want to change that," said Brylevens.

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