After dropping out of the World Championship time trial in August Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) returned to the aero position with force, winning the European Championship by 43 seconds over Anna Henderson (Great Britain). Christina Schweinberger (Austria) continued her impressive back half of the season finishing third, only one second behind Henderson.
- The final straight road into the finish was also straight into a headwind, according to Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig so “it felt like an uphill.”
- Reusser caught and passed Markus, who finished third in this race last year. The Dutchwoman was still the Netherlands top finisher in seventh, exactly a minute down.
- Reusser seemed all smiles at the race, a stark contrast to her World Championships experience only a month ago. The Suissewoman went to Emmen, where the race took place, only a few days before, in order to not put too much pressure on herself before the day. She also didn’t appear to have her head unit on her handlebars, so she couldn’t see her power output during the race and would have been riding more on feel.
- This is Reusser’s third straight European time trial title. She won in both 2022 and 2021 ahead of Ellen van Dijk.
- France’s Audrey Cordon-Ragot finished fourth for the second year in a row. She missed the podium by only four seconds but it is still a notable result for the former French ITT champion. One year and one week ago Cordon-Ragot suffered a stroke that took her out of the 2022 World Championships and put her career, and life, in jeopardy. Now she continues to be one of the most aggressive riders in the peloton, with the legs to back her up.
- The U23 women raced 19.8 km earlier in the day. Zoe Bäckstedt (Great Britain) took the win over the U23 world champion Antonia Niedermaier (Germany) with Anniina Ahtosalo (Finland) finishing third.
Brief results
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Quote of the day
Reusser didn’t sit back and wait for someone else to make sure her birthday was special. She took it with watts.
Especially, you know, today’s my birthday. It’s a really special day.
Reusser after the race
Up next: European championships road race
On Saturday, September 23rd the top women in Europe (and the UK) line up to fight for the title of European Champion. The race is a fun one, with about 60ish kilometres of flat roads, and possibly some crosswinds, before the peloton turns onto a familiar circuit around the Col du Vam (or the VAM-berg). You’ll recognize it from Ronde van Drenthe earlier in the year, or the Dutch national championships.
It’s a race that could come down to a solo rider or a small group, so many riders will think they can take home gold. Check back on Thursday for a full race preview including Wheel Talk Podcast picks!
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