'I just want to sleep for a week' - Longo Borghini enjoys the Tour podium

Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team l'IMAD) finished the 2026 Tour de France Femmes with a sensational turn of events, climbing onto the overall podium in the final stage, held in Nice. It was a conclusion not even the Piedmontese athlete expected, coming at the end of a race filled with ups and downs.

The result came unexpectedly: Longo Borghini overtook Marlen Reusser (Movistar) after the Swiss rider suffered a nasty downhill crash early in the 99.2km stage. This incident completely reshaped the overall standings just hours before the finish line in Paris... sorry, Nice.

"I'm speechless, I really am speechless," said Longo Borghini at the end of the stage. "I absolutely didn't think I could get on the podium after the fifth stage and the time trial."

Longo finished the stage in seventh place after a late puncture prevented her from fighting for higher positions, trailing stage and overall winner Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) and second-place finisher Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM) by 1:14. But it was Reusser's collapse, falling into the small group and finishing 24:35 behind the yellow jersey, that opened the door for her to a podium finish.

A significant detail for fantasy cycling fans: even without Reusser's crash, Longo Borghini could still have fought for that position, but she also had to watch her back from Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM), who was just 49 seconds behind her in the overall standings going into the final stage.

"I told Paula I was at my limit, but at the front it was a completely different story. On the challenging climb, I managed not to lose too much to Demi and Kasia, and then I managed to rejoin Fisher-Black," said Longo Borghini, referring to teammate Paula Blasi Cairol.

"Then I tried to control Niedermaier, who was pushing all the way to the top of the climb, and I tried to make sure Antonia didn't attack. We kept Niedermaier calm, and once we caught Kasia, we decided to go all out on the sprint for Paula."

Blasi then beat Niewiadoma-Phinney in a sprint for second place on the stage, while Longo Borghini remained detached from the chasing group, explaining: "In the end I got a puncture - because, of course, I couldn't escape a bit of bad luck!"

Although a two-time winner of the Giro d'Italia, Longo Borghini had never won a stage or stood on the podium of the Tour de France before today, and admitted she couldn't believe her result.

Will Elisa celebrate? "I just want to go home, see my family, crash on the couch, and sleep for a week."

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