Letizia Borghesi
Hometown
Cles, Italy
Date of birth
16 October 1998
Languages
Italian and English
Nicknames
Leti or Borghe
Letizia is one of the most consistent riders in the peloton. In 2024, she racked up over a dozen top-ten results and helped control the peloton in order to allow teammate Clara Emond to escape and win a Giro d’Italia stage. Letizia’s biggest result to date is her 2019 stage win at the Giro d’Italia where she spent the day in the breakaway before sprinting to the stage win.
Riding bikes is almost a requirement to be in the Borghesi family. Letizia and her younger sister grew up hearing stories from her dad about his wins as a U23 racer and Letizia thought to herself, “I could do that.” She started racing as a 12-year-old and hasn’t looked back. Her parents still love to ride and you’ll often find them – and her dogs – at Letizia’s races, having driven their camper van from their family home in Italy to support their daughter.
Hailing from the mountains of northern Italy, Letizia is happiest when she is outside. She adores her home region of Trentino and you can often find her hiking to the nearby lakes when she’s not training on the road. She earned the silver medal in the 2022 Italian gravel national championships, her first ever gravel race, and has since also raced the gravel world championships. In the off season, Letizia enjoys competing in the local cyclocross races and was second in the 2024 Italian CX national championship. Given her experience in cyclocross, it’s not a surprise that her favorite races are the cobbled classics because she loves the steep climbs and is used to the harsh weather conditions.
Letizia completed her bachelor’s degree in sports science and she is currently studying for her master’s degree in biology/nutrition.
Questions & Answers
If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Why?
I’d love to be able to lengthen the hours in a day to be able to do a lot more things.
If you had to cook dinner for the team, what would be on the menu?
Polenta e spezzatino (polenta with stew). It’s a typical mountain dish of Trentino.
What’s the first thing you do when you get home after being away at a race?
Hug my dogs!
When a race gets tough, what do you tell yourself?
I worked hard for this, I cannot give up.
If you weren't a professional cyclist, what would you be? Why?
I was really good at school. I studied at the science-focused school and I was especially good in math, physics, and chemistry, so I would have done something in this field, maybe in medicine.