With 6.2 km left to go, Chantal Blaak puts her foot down, making an impressive thrust from the back of the peloton, and taking nearly all her hesitant opponents by surprise. Elisa Longo Borghini senses danger. In a split second, she weighs up the risk of following Blaak (knowing that she may not go along, having two of her teammates behind her) against the threat of letting a former World Champion blast away, with such a short distance to go to the finish.
She decides to pull away, and jump on the Dutch rider’s wheel.
A choice that will earn her a second-place finish at the 2021 Strade Bianche.
One of Blaak’s teammates chasing down on them was the defending World Champion, who eventually settled for third. Who are we talking about?
