Road European Championships: Marlen Reusser doubles up with elite women’s time trial title

Behind Ottestad, Mischa Bredewold (Netherlands) just managed to get ahead of Norwegian Katrine Aalerud to claim the bronze medal by 0.2 seconds.

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“I think everybody’s biggest opponent today was the wind,” Reusser said.

Reusser, along with many of the riders competing at the European championships, had to endure a lengthy trip from the World Championships in Rwanda, but was able to add the European champion’s jersey to her collection alongside the rainbow jersey she won in Kigali.

“I’m super happy that I can keep up the level,” Reusser said. “Last year I was sick and before I could win this a few times, so I think it’s not something you should take for granted.

“I was also not sure to win, because sometimes it’s tight and sometimes somebody has a super good day, and I can also be the one with not a good day. So I was not confident anyway that I was gonna win this. So I’m really happy. And, yeah, it’s hard to race time trials, so I’m happy it’s rewarded.”

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Anna Henderson (Great Britain) set the early benchmark for the elite women’s time trial, setting off as the third rider down the start ramp in Loriol. She covered the 24km route in 34:12.

It wasn’t long before Henderson was stunned by Norwegian Mie Bjørndal Ottestad, who went 16 seconds quicker to move into the hot seat.

The lithe climber made most of her gains on the climb to the finish line. Her last kick was strong enough to fend off a challenge from Juliette Labous (France), who nudged Henderson down the standings by less than a second. Lieke Nooijen (Netherlands) came within nine seconds but she too fell short of the Norwegian.

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Then, Ottestad’s compatriot Katrine Aalerud came through just two seconds shy of overtaking the top of the leaderboard.

On the road, world champion Reusser was on a tear, blowing past Christina Schweinberger (Austria) who started one minute ahead. Reusser might have been shy of Aalerud at the first check, but by the second, she was 14 seconds clear.

At the base of the climb, Reusser had a massive lead of almost 50 seconds over Ottestad, while Mischa Bredewold (Netherlands) was chasing in for third.

The Dutch rider passed Cedrine Kerbaol (France) just before the line but fell 0.87 seconds short of overtaking Ottestad.

Meanwhile, Reusser was blasting up the final climb to claim the victory by 49 seconds.