Marlen Reusser is European ITT champion for the second consecutive time

Marlen Reusser is European ITT champion for the second consecutive time

"Team SD Worx played an important role in this title"

17/08/2022

Marlen Reusser has extended her European time trial title. The 30-year-old Swiss took off like a rocket and was the fastest over the 24 kilometre course with an average speed of 46.45 km per hour. At the finish line, she was 5.77 seconds faster than world champion Ellen van Dijk. Reusser thus became European time trial champion for the second consecutive time. "I'm very happy with this. I didn't have a great feeling during the race. That I can extend the title means a lot to me."

Linked race European ITT Championships - Linked cyclists Marlen Reusser

Stunning what Marlen Reusser performed in Munich. The Swiss was as constant as a metronome. She set the best time at every intermediate point. Very impressive, especially considering the difficult run-up to the European Championships. A hand injury knocked her out of the Women's Tour and a Covid infection prevented her from defending her Swiss national titles. In the Tour de France Femmes she won the fourth stage with supreme power, before literally dropping out of the race due to a concussion sustained in a crash, less than a month away from the European Championships. Yet it did not faze Marlen Reusser. "It's true that the preparation for this European Championships was far from optimal, but the last few days I have been training really hard again. So I knew it was in the cards, but every time trial is always a new challenge."

The European Championship was only the second time trial that Marlen Reusser competed in this year. "I really regretted that I could only wear my European jersey once. So it's no surprise that I really wanted to renew this title." And it showed. The 30-year-old Swiss started very fast. No one did better at the first intermediate point. After 700 metres of climbing height, the world champion and main competitor Ellen van Dijk lost 11 seconds to Reusser. 

Mental boost

Even before the second intermediate point, she had caught Lisa Brennauer, who had started a minute before her. "My radio didn't work. That was really irritating. All I heard was beeping, so I didn't know how I was doing. Until then, I didn't feel like this was my day. My Garmin was in my speed suit, so I had no idea of the values I was pedalling and my legs didn't feel so good. Having Lisa in my sights gave me the mental boost I needed. I knew she could also do a time trial quickly, so the fact that I caught up with her convinced me that I was doing well after all."

Van Dijk was also 9.8 seconds slower at the second intermediate point (15.3 km). Although the world champion pulled out all the stops, Reusser eventually triumphed with a lead of 5.77 seconds. Riejanne Markus finished third (27.88 seconds). "I'm super happy to renew my European title. I am grateful to everyone who helped me achieve this. My switch to Team SD Worx was the reason for this success. With the S-Works Shiv TT Disc I got a super fast bike and together with the staff of Swiss Cycling & Team SD Worx we worked hard on my aerodynamics. Every detail was figured out. I felt during my time trial that my bike set up felt really fast. This gold medal is the result of all that work," concludes the two-time European time trial champion.

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