UAE Team L’IMAD brought its 2026 season to a successful conclusion with two more victories and two Italian national titles at the Individual Time Trial National Championships, held today in Piasco, Piedmont, following the postponement of the event originally scheduled for June.
On the 19.7-kilometre course, Elisa Longo Borghini delivered a commanding performance to take the overall victory in a time of 23:15, averaging an impressive 50.839 km/h. Already the reigning Italian road race champion, the Ornavasso-born rider added another prestigious title to her palmarès, claiming her eighth Italian time trial championship.
This latest success brings Longo Borghini’s tally of Italian Elite national titles to 14, combining eight time trial crowns with six road race titles — an outstanding achievement as she approaches her 35th birthday.
Longo Borghini finished 54 seconds ahead of Alessia Vigilia (Uno-X Mobility), who secured the silver medal, while Letizia Borghesi (AG Insurance–Soudal Team) took bronze, 1:03 behind the winner.
There was further cause for celebration for UAE Team L’IMAD thanks to an excellent performance by Giada Silo of UAE Development Team. The young rider from Vicenza stopped the clock at 25:12 to finish fourth overall, securing first place in the Under-23 category and the corresponding Italian national title. She also won in June the Italian Road Race title in the Under-23 category.
With Longo Borghini triumphing in the Elite category and Silo taking the Under-23 crown, UAE Team L’IMAD concluded its 2026 campaign on a high note, adding two more national titles to an already outstanding season, crowned a few days ago as the UCI Women’s WorldTour’s Best Team 2026.
Elisa Longo Borghini said: “I’m very happy to have won another Italian National Championship because I believe it’s a race that should always be honoured, even though this year it came at the end of a very long season. It was a title I really wanted, because wearing the Italian champion’s jersey is always an honour. I’ll be happy to wear it next year in some of the biggest races on the WorldTour calendar.”
Giada Silo said: “I’m happy with this Italian champion’s jersey and with my performance overall, especially because we’re now at the end of the season and I was feeling a little tired. However, I really wanted to be here for the Italian National Championships, and I’m pleased with my result. Wearing the Italian champion’s jersey is always an honour.”
(ph. Michele Ghiglione – xpix.it)
