Having gone into the European Championships yesterday as reigning champion and favourite, Marlen Reusser lived up to her well-earned reputation by taking the win. With an average speed of 49.828 kilometres per hour, she steamed to her third consecutive European time trial title in Emmen. Silver medallist Anna Henderson followed at 43 seconds with third place claimed by Caroline Schweinberger at 44 seconds.
“That I realise the hat-trick is very special,” said Reusser after her victory. “Every time you have to fight for that jersey again. I am happy to wear it for another year.”
“You have to ride a very strong time trial to have a chance of winning this title,” she added. “So I’m definitely not getting used to this jersey, no. I take nothing for granted and have worked hard for this. To prolong the title on my birthday is a nice extra aspect. I rode a championship on my birthday two years earlier. At the World Championships in Bruges in 2021, I then just missed out on the world title by ten seconds. Back then, that was a big disappointment. It’s nice to live up to the hat-trick just today.”
Reusser found a course tailored to her strengths in Emmen. “I could use my power well on it, although I can also do well on a more uphill course. I even like that a bit more. In Switzerland, the roads slope up a bit more and there are a few more corners. That might make it a bit more interesting, but even this course was challenging. Now I can celebrate twice. I am super satisfied that I can also ride in this beautiful jersey during the time trials next year.”
27-year-old Belgian Lotte Kopecky was measuring herself for the first time at an international championship in time trial. She finished fifth at 49 seconds. “This was the longest time trial I have ridden in a long time and I know again what I don’t like about it,” she analysed. “The wind played a role, so it was important to go into the red at the beginning without blowing yourself up. A time trial you have to plan well and I think I succeeded. We will now analyse whether I will focus more on this discipline in the future. We are not going to decide in a hurry, because I already have a lot to focus on. So we’ll see what the future brings.”
