Elisa Balsamo and Elisa Longo Borghini, two riders on Lidl-Trek's Tour de France Fam Avec Zwift team, are the "two Elisas" returning to racing after crashing in the last race.

For Balsamo, this is her first race back after being sidelined for more than two months with injuries from a crash. She broke her jaw at the Ride London Classic and required major surgery.

"It was a really bad crash and after the surgery I had to keep my mouth closed for a whole day and night. I had to keep my mouth shut all day and night after the surgery," Balsamo told Cycling News in Clermont-Ferrand.

"Then I started training a little bit with a trainer and now I've been training outside for three weeks. I know I'm not in the best condition, but it's really important to be here, mentally and physically. So I really want to say thank you to the team. They invited me here," said Balsamo, who was grateful for the opportunity to compete in the Tour.

Naturally, Balsamo has no personal ambitions in this race. Unlike in 2022, when she competed with other sprinters for stage wins, she is primarily supporting her teammates and trying to regain her confidence.

"We have no ambitions. If I am there in the sprint, that is what I will go for. But we haven't planned it and we will just see it day by day. I will try to help the team as long as I can and try to find a good feeling in the peloton again. I also want to get better day by day and try to take care of my teammates. I know it won't be easy to come back in the Tour de France, but I'm going to do my best.

Elisa Longo Borghini is in a different situation than her namesake teammate. She was in second place overall at the Giro d'Italia Donnay earlier this month when she crashed on the final descent of stage 5. She rolled to the finish, but felt pain after the fall and did not start the next day as a precaution. Subsequent tests confirmed that she had no broken bones or concussion, and the Italian champion will be looking for a stage win.

"Luckily, the consequences of the fall were not as bad as I assumed at the first checkup. So now I just have some pain in my ribs and I'm ready to go. My condition hasn't changed at all because of the crash. I will look for a stage here and go for the GC. I will take it one day at a time and see what the final result will be," said Longo Borghini.