Longo Borghini furious after ‘rookie mistakes’ by Niewiadoma and herself cost them medals at European Championships
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Follow us on GoogleKasia Niewiadoma and Elisa Longo Borghini were left feeling particularly frustrated by today's race at the 2026 European Cycling Championships for elite women. The Polish rider appeared to be in a battle with Demi Vollering for the title. After she was dropped, Niewiadoma crashed in the final turn while fighting for the podium. Longo Borghini was also left empty-handed after that incident.
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Niewiadoma impressed until crash left her battered and sore
"I'm stiff," sighed Niewiadoma, who ultimately crossed the finish line battered and bruised in 6th place.
"I have no idea what happened, only that we were all battling for position going into the turn, and that I suddenly lost control of my front wheel," she explained in her analysis to Cycling Pro Net.
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Until the crash, Niewiadoma had made a good impression. “The race didn’t really start until we were on the local circuit, and the pace was consistently very high on the climbs.
"On the final climb, I thought I was keeping up, until Demi managed to go a little faster. She’s super strong this year.”
Niewiadoma eventually had to catch her breath on the final climb, which meant that three others were able to catch up to her. The runner-up in both the Tour de France Femmes and the Road World Championships had hoped to contend for a medal, but couldn't deliver in the end.
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Longo Borghini is disappointed in herself after European Championships
Longo Borghini also had high hopes for the European Championships. Although the experienced Italian quickly realised that the Dutch team was too strong for her, she was very disappointed afterward at missing out on a medal.
"I made a rookie mistake in the last turn because I wanted to finish second so badly," she said.
"Kasia skidded and knocked me off my line a bit, but of course that's nobody's fault. That happens in cycling, but I should have been smarter about my positioning."
"The first lap was pretty easy, but on the second lap I had to set my own pace, because otherwise I would have burned out. It's just a shame that I made a mistake like that, which cost me a medal."
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Clarice WebsterEditor
Clarice has been following cycling her whole life, wroting about Thibaut Pinot (among others) for her university magazine while earning her masters in Journalism. She is passionate about furthering equality in sports coverage, and has taken huge inspiration from pillars of women’s cycling like Beryl Burton, Marianne Vos, and Laura Kenny.
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Latest Comments
- - Un poco corto en la parte técnica de la bici de McNulty, no? Colnago nero con detalles arcoíris suena brutal — queremos más fotos, per favore.pedalpowe2902-10-2026
- - Demi finally gets her stripes! Team Oranje tactics on point again — recon, lead-out, and that patient regroup. Textbook. Chapeau.sprocketspiny02-10-2026
- - Wait, does the world champ jersey apply to all disciplines or just road race? Can McNulty wear it in a TT too, or is that only if he won the TT worlds?davidm02-10-2026
- - Brilliant coverage. The early flight back to beat jet lag is elite-level thinking. Those marginal gains matter before a punchy Euros course.samanthak02-10-2026
- - Not sure the “surprised everyone” line about McNulty is fair. He’s been knocking on the door all season in one-day races and TTs. Emilia in rainbows is going to slap.patriciaw02-10-2026
- - Love seeing the rainbow bands back on Slovenian roads. Demi looks sharp in that kit. Hope she gets a full custom bike soon, not just a tiny stripe under the seatpost. Come on, give the champ a proper paint job!cadencekingm02-10-2026
- - Quick one: why can’t McNulty wear the rainbow at Euros? Is it only for world champs from Europe or something about national teams vs trade teams?lindae02-10-2026
- - That Dutch masterclass was something else. Vollering timed that second move perfectly after the first dig didn’t stick. Proper teamwork — Wiebes and the crew deserve as much credit as Demi.julien02-10-2026
- - Boonen’s line about trusting teammates is gold. World’s is chess, not crit. Belgium tried to cover every scenario and covered none. Harsh lesson, but needed before next year.samanthak02-10-2026
- - Great read, but the piece leans a bit too harsh on Wout for me. He wasn’t at leader-level form, true, yet the team didn’t set up a plan B well enough. Segaert the bright spot, agreed.julien02-10-2026
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