Marlen Reusser’s hopes of World Championships success in the elite women’s time trial ended mid-race after she eased up and then stopped her ride.
The Swiss rider, arguably the favourite for the world title, was timed at 33 seconds slower than eventual winner Chloé Dygert of the USA at the first intermediate time check after 12.6km. She did not reach the second time check at the 23.1km point in the 36.2km race.
During her ride, Reusser suddenly eased up, shook her head as she slowed and appeared to try to stretch her back. She then stopped, turned her bike around and sat on the grass at the side of the road in apparent disbelief. Swiss national coach Edi Telser gave her a hug but she appeared inconsolable.
Reusser won the Team Time Trial Mixed Relay with her Swiss teammates on Tuesday but crashed in the final of the race after touching the road with a pedal in a fast corner. She started the women’s time trial with a bandage on her left elbow, but it is unclear if her crash injuries forced her to stop.
She won the bronze medal in Wollongong in 2022, behind Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands) and Australia’s Grace Brown. She was a favourite for this year’s World Championships after winning the European title and more recently the final time trial stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
“The course in Glasgow cannot be compared to that in Switzerland or in the Tour de France Femmes,” she said on Tuesday.
“I have a kind of love-hate relationship with time trials. I never really look forward to it, because you know in advance that it will be gruelling.
“But the closer the World Championships came, the more I was drawn to it and the more it itches. My season is already super, an individual world title would be the icing on an already very nice cake.”
Sadly Reusser’s result was shown as DNF.
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