Twenty-one seconds is one of the smallest gaps between the winner of the Giro d'Italia and the runner-up. A sigh of relief. Longo Borghini won after eight stages of total effort. It was her first Giro d'Italia at the age of 32. She was the favourite and she did not disappoint. She held on to her lead in the final stage and arrived in the Abruzzo capital victorious.

She overtook the Belgian Lotte Kopecky, who gave her the most trouble since the beginning of the 'corsa rossa'. Borghini led from start to finish and wore the pink jersey for eight days. It was the 32-year-old's first stage race, her first grand tour. She was the favourite and withstood the attacks of her rivals. The Lidl-Trek team leader was accompanied by Kopecky and Australian Neve Bradbury. Bradbury finished third overall after the final 117km stage from Pescara on the Adriatic coast to L'Aquila last Sunday. Bradbury made a name for herself as a cyclist at the age of 22 by winning the queen's stage.

When it emerged that Borghini and Kopecky had started the final stage just one second apart, the final was even more agonising. The Italian team had not won the race since Fabiana Luperini, the 'Pantanina', took her fourth victory in 2008. Not all the news is bad for Lidl-Trek, which suffered the crash of Elisa Balsamo in the Vuelta a Burgos in May.

Borghini's leap in quality is complete, and now thoughts are turning to the possibility of her completing the coveted double in August, when the Tour de France takes place from 12 to 18 August. She won in 2022 and now dreams of a double. She is in the same position to make history as Tadej Pogacar in the men's race. The Slovenian won the Giro in May. Now he has his sights set on winning the Tour. If he succeeds, it will be the first time since Marco Pantani in 1998. If both Borghini and Pogacar do it, it will be historic..

In Italy, she did not have to contend with the current rider to beat, Demi Vollering. The Dutchwoman won the Vuelta a España. Now the Italian has won the Giro d'Italia. The Tour will be a showdown between the two.

The last stage was won by Kimberley Le Court of Mauritius. Le Court won the stage. Longo Borghini won the general classification.Borghini succeeds Annemiek Van Vleuten, the winner in 2023. Kopecky and Bradbury were on the podium, and they will all be competing again in the two most important goals for them: the Olympic Games and the Tour de France.