Defending Tour of Flanders champion Elisa Longo Borghini crashes out

Defending Tour of Flanders champion Elisa Longo Borghini has abandoned the race after being one of a gang of riders who came down in a crash in the early stages of the race.

The Italian champion remounted her bike and chased back on but later climbed off unable to continue with the race.

The crash also involved Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), Simone Boilard (Uno-X Mobility) and Martina Alzini (Cofidis).

Her team UAE-ADQ team has yet to comment.

Longo Borghini has been in excellent form winning Dwars Door Vlaanderen earlier in the week. That had acted as redemption for Milan-San Remo where she was caught within sight of the line.

After her Dwars win she said: "It was revenge for Milan-San Remo where they caught me at 150m.

“I was very hungry for victory today – I came here looking for nothing less than that. I really wanted to prove that I was strong."

It had signalled a turn-around for the Italian who despite early season success winning the UAE Tour in February had been unable to notch a victory in European soil in 2025.

Asked if the frustration had been fuel for her winning ways at Dwars she said: "I'm always bouncing back from a big disappointment usually, so that's proof that sometimes it works."

She had won solo in Dwars and that had elevated her to favourite status for today’s monument.

At present two-time Flanders champion Longo Borghini is tied for the most wins with a raft of greats including Judith Arndt, Lotte Kopecky, Annemiek Van Vleuten and Mirjam Melchers. A win today would have put her into a category of her own and cemented her place as one of the best to turn the pedals in anger.

It’s not clear what type of injury Longo Borghini sustained or how serious it is. Her next race is scheduled to be Amstel Gold later this month and whether she’ll be able to take to the start line is, of course, unknown.