Today at the finish line in Saluzzo everyone was waiting for Elisa Longo Borghini, there were fans, masseurs, friends, journalists and her husband Jacopo, all glued to the television to support her. When she crossed the finish line the emotion was universal, hugs, tears, a true liberation, like a cry to the heavens to say "Elisa is back".

When we had spoken to her at the beginning of the Giro there were few certainties and many doubts, the awareness of coming from a complicated period, an April to forget but from which she emerged even stronger. The emotion is palpable, next to us is Vittoria Ruffelli who lived those difficult months by her side, giving her an additional reason not to give up. "Those glasses that Elisa is wearing today, I gave them to her," she tells us before going to embrace her and burst into tears together with her. There was no better way for Longo to leave her mark on the race, in her Piedmont, in front of her public. "It hasn't been an easy period, neither for me nor for the people around me. When an athlete is struggling it's not easy to manage emotions and watching races on TV is quite depressing. There was a moment when I got dressed to go cycling, I put on my shoes, but then sitting on the ground I told myself 'not today'". I had to start from scratch, I struggled to even do an hour and a half on the bike and I asked myself many questions, more than once I told myself that as a human being I didn't deserve all of this, but I couldn't give up, I had to restart at all costs."

It was a crazy day in every sense. A stage that even the best fortune teller couldn't have predicted. Attack after attack, one surprise after another in which however Elisa always had a very clear objective: to win. "This morning we hadn't made great plans and the attack came the moment I put it into action. Today I only wanted to win the stage, I don't know how but I had to manage it. On the climb of Montoso I saw my husband Jacopo and I told him I felt like attacking, but doing it at that point was just crazy. Then Antonia attacked and I decided to follow her, after all I had nothing to lose. I was seventh in the general classification, if I wasn't coming to the Giro to win the overall I had to at least manage to win the stage, nothing else mattered. When I realized that Vollering would come back behind me I thought it would be smarter to wait for her, she would definitely push hard, she wanted to win the Giro and I wanted the stage and I believe it was one of those cases where it was necessary to put rivalries aside and collaborate," explained Elisa who after the finish line received a thank you from Giro winner Demi Vollering. In that thank you there is more than a passing of the torch, the intelligence of two champions who knew how to put rivalry aside to both win and completely overturn the pink race.

The emotion in Elisa's eyes is more than evident, there is the determination that has always distinguished her, but that lightness of spirit that she has regained with the victory and with a true liberating cry. "I feel light in spirit and heart, but not because I've returned to winning, but because I've proven my true value. I believe that this is what truly makes a person happy, not only in sport but also in life. Today I could have finished second and I would have been happy anyway because I fought, I gave everything of myself. I don't want to be number one just to be number one, but because I managed to express myself at 100%. The result is something that remains on paper, but personal satisfaction is priceless." concludes the Italian champion who will treat herself to the well-deserved celebrations with her family and her team. Only after will it be time to think about the future, the Italian championships, the mountains, the Tour, everything else. Now Elisa wants to enjoy every moment.