Letizia Borghesi was the best Italian athlete at the Tour of Flanders with a sixth place behind only great champions of the classics. A result she chased, wanted at all costs, and finally caught, realizing a small part of her dream, a special day that she will hardly forget. The emotion was immense, especially when you find yourself racing your favorite race in the sanctuary of cycling, and moreover, fighting with the best in the final, it becomes truly difficult to fall asleep and try to place everything in a normal day.

"It was an incredible emotion, I was feeling good but it's always difficult to achieve such a result. The post-race emotion was so strong that I struggled to sleep," Letizia tells us as we start our conversation. Already on television, among the hugs and compliments from her teammates, she seemed visibly touched by the result, but hearing it from her own words has a truly special flavor (and you can do the same by listening to part of the interview in the new episode of blablabike). "I was coming from a period where I was a bit nervous, I felt I had great condition and a good level, but I couldn't bring home the result I wanted. Finally at the Tour of Flanders, I achieved what I deserved, and it's a relief because mentally I was putting a lot of pressure on myself, but then something always went wrong during the race. Since the Strade Bianche, I've been feeling good, I've always fought in the finale, but I worked a lot for my teammates. Finally, I had the opportunity to play my own cards and I tried to make the most of my chance."

Letizia's Tour of Flanders was very different from what we saw on TV, a real battle that started even before the walls arrived. About a hundred kilometers in, she was involved in a crash that took out several athletes, including Elisa Longo Borghini. Nothing was broken for the Trentino rider from EF Education Oatly, but she was forced to change bikes and start a chase for about twenty kilometers. "I can't explain the exact dynamics of the crash, but at some point I couldn't stop and I fell. The bike was broken and I had to change it. With my teammate Noemi Ruegg, we launched into pursuit, but it wasn't easy because the group was already fragmented and we were finding only small groups of a few athletes, the speed was very high. At one point I was about to lose hope, I had spent so much energy, but once I got back to the main group, I tried to calm down and catch my breath. Fortunately, on the Koppenberg I understood that my legs were good," Letizia said.

The race literally exploded on the Oude Kwaremont where Lotte Kopecky opened the gas, taking only Newiadoma, Ferrand Prevot and Lippert with her; Letizia was one of the few to try to react and play it out to the end. "I started the Kwaremont in 3-4th position, I was well-positioned, but at some point I had contact with another athlete and had to slow down. When Lotte attacked, I was too far back. I managed to recover, but by then the gap was 15 seconds. Behind, we tried a pursuit, we were 7, only 5 of us were pulling and there wasn't much agreement. I tried to accelerate several times on the Paterberg, but unfortunately the delay was too big. I gave everything for the sprint and I'm happy with my sixth place. I expected to do well, but after the initial difficulties I feared I had consumed too much energy. I trained hard, and I believe that hard work is always rewarded," continued the Trentino rider who skillfully used her cyclocross experience, which is fundamental in races like those of the north.

Just in a chat before the classics block, she had told us about her bet to go through hell on the bike and in the mud, a bold choice made of passion and self-financed trips to Belgium, which certainly made the difference. In that occasion, she had told us how the Tour of Flanders was her heart's race, perfectly suited to her characteristics, and capable of transmitting unique emotions. The fans positioned on the walls, the stadium-like cheering, and above all that legendary flavor she immediately fell in love with. She smiles thinking about her first time, when she was 18 and in a continental team, and now a sixth place has arrived that could be the beginning of something great. "I remember my first time at the Tour of Flanders, it was an incredibly hard race, but immediately after I told myself 'this is a special race, one day I would like to be here to fight for victory'. Since that day, many years of training, dedication, and sacrifices have passed, and this time I even saw myself very close to fighting for something big. I can't wait to improve and try to get on the podium," Letizia confides to us, getting emotional thinking that this time her younger sister Giada was also in the race.

We had already understood that such a result for Letizia was something big, and hearing her words confirms it absolutely. The sixth place should be understood not only as a confirmation but as the beginning of a new growth path that could truly take her to the top. "Beyond everything, from this Tour of Flanders I take home the lesson of never giving up, despite all the obstacles that may exist." she tells us before saying goodbye. Meanwhile, it's already time to prepare for Saturday's Roubaix. It's her other dream race, and last year she narrowly missed the top ten.