Elisa Longo Borghini proudly carried the Italian flag at the Imola World Championships. She said her bronze medal was a symbol of her country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Italy's ability to host a world championship in just 20 days.

Longo Borghini may not be a fast sprint finisher, but she is a fighter. She chased down winner Anna van der Breggen after a solo attack and fought to the end with Annemiek van Vleuten for the silver medal.

Third place still felt like a victory, interrupting the Netherlands' complete domination.

"This bronze medal means a lot to me, especially considering how Italy was viewed in March. We were seen as the spreaders of the virus in Europe, but now we are seen as a model in the fight against the pandemic," Longo Borghini said proudly. [It is a record to have a world championship in just 20 days. Last night I said to the team that we would have no regrets.

"My teammates worked very hard for me during the race. The only way I could thank them was to win the bronze medal. I am very proud to have won this medal wearing the Italian blue Azzurra jersey."

Longo Borghini is a role model for the entire Italian cycling community: at 28, and after a decade as a professional, she appears to be nearing her peak, winning the Italian national title in August, finishing second in the European Championships, and coming close for years in the Giro Rosa. Even during the closure of COVID-19, she was able to learn and grow about herself.

"The lockdown was hard for everyone, but I also gained something positive from it. I was able to stay home for a long time, and even though I ended up training 18 hours a week on the Turbo Trainer, I kept training," she explained.

"When you live in a beautiful part of Italy, like I do, with a great lake and fresh air, it's hard to handle the rollers. But the effort paid off. In the Clasica Femenina Navarra race, with 60km to go I was all alone. But after a similar virtual ride, I told myself I could do anything.

"In the last few years I have learned how to train really well and I have to thank my coach Paolo Slongo. He's patient and understands me."

"I'm very proud of him.

At the medal winners' press conference, Annemiek van Fruten suggested that the success of Dutch athletes may be because they have the independence to focus on their sport at a high level and the freedom to dedicate their lives to racing and training.

Longo Borghini argued that Italian women are equally independent and that they simply lack media visibility and live television coverage of women's races.

Her bronze medal and gusty run meant that Longo Borghini was the right person to give advice to the elite Italian men racing on Sunday.

She provided them with valuable race strategy.

"The course never forgives and it hurts," she warned.

"There is little room to catch your breath, and the only flat section between climbs is the motor racing circuit. Otherwise, you have to constantly open the gas pedal to full throttle to prepare for the climb."

"It's a very difficult race," she said.

"My only advice to the Italian riders is to wait a bit on the second climb; if you go too fast on the second climb, you will pay the price."

Like her rivals in the women's peloton, Longo Borghini will have little time to taste the bronze medal.

"This is not the peak of my season; the race doesn't end until November.

"There are still plenty of races with Trek-Segafredo. Now I will put down my bronze medal and head to Fresh Wallonne in Belgium."