Elisa Longo Borghini selflessly took the blame after Italy narrowly missed out on a medal on day one of the 2019 UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire.

The Italian team finished fourth in the first team time trial mixed relay, missing out on the bronze medal by just a few seconds. The team consisting of Elia Viviani, Davide Martinelli, Edoardo Affini, Elena Cecchini, Tatiana Gudelzo, and Longo Borghini was in contention for the bronze medal, but their hopes were ended when Longo Borghini suffered a flat tire late in the race. The Netherlands won the race, with Germany and Great Britain rounding out the podium.

Despite the puncture being nothing but bad luck, Longo Borghini took the blame for Italy's disappointment.

"There was nothing special. There were no aliens or helicopters crashing into us. I got a flat tire at the worst possible time, on the steep part after the bridge. I had to switch bikes and basically do an individual chase," he told Cycling News at the finish in Harrogate.

After switching bikes, Longo Borghini chased his two teammates and made a considerable effort to close the gap before the finish. On the final climb in Harrogate, the duo of Longo Borghini and Gudelzo finished strong, but it was not enough to make up for the time loss caused by the earlier puncture and subsequent bike change.

"We were able to finish the final and leave something behind. I felt really strong today. But I want to apologize to the national team for the flat. The guys did a great job today and we did a very good job, but I feel like I let my teammates down. I feel like a black sheep today. I wanted to do a good time with the other two guys."

Longo Borghini also supported his teammates.

"At the first moment they had to go because there was no other choice. It was up to me to come back, but I think it was the wisest choice."

The mixed relay replaced the controversial team time trial at the World Championships, and the UCI sent a team from the UCI World Cycling Center to support the event. While many of the participating countries did not send strong teams, Italy bucked the trend with a strong and balanced lineup. According to Longo Borghini, sending a competitive team was an important statement of intent. At the same time, Longo Borghini respectfully chose not to criticize other countries for not following Italy's lead.

"I am proud to wear the national jersey and I always want to show how strong my country is. I feel for my country because of the bad luck we had. If I hadn't had a flat tire, I wonder what position I would have taken.

"Every federation has its own goals. But for us Italians, I think the team relay means a lot. Both the men's and women's teams put all their energy into the team relay, and I like the team relay. I don't mean to criticize other national teams, we all have our own ideas.

"I think it's fun. It's fun. It's a little adrenaline rush because you're waiting for the men's team to finish. Then we start and the times are totaled. It's nice. It's fun."

Longo Borghini will compete in both the women's individual time trial and the road race later in the week.