Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser successfully defended her elite individual time trial title at the UCI Road World Championships in Montreal on Sunday, September 20. Racing on her 35th birthday, Reusser clocked a winning time of 50 minutes and 24.44 seconds across the demanding 39.2-kilometre course, securing another rainbow jersey for her palmares.
Conquering the Montreal Circuit on a Birthday
The race carried high stakes as the world championships returned to Montreal for the first time in 52 years, marking only the third time Canada has hosted the premier event following editions in Montreal in 1974 and Hamilton in 2003. Britain’s Zoe Backstedt captured the silver medal, finishing 40.11 seconds behind the Swiss champion, while Germany’s Franziska Koch secured the bronze, crossing the line 45.54 seconds adrift.
Here is why that matters: Reusser, affectionately nicknamed ‘The Flying Elephant’, admitted that the unique layout of the Canadian course kept her on edge prior to the start. “On the one hand, I was looking forward to it because it has so many challenges and technical aspects. But from the side of pacing, how fast you should go, to cope with the challenges, I was really nervous,” Reusser shared after her victory, as reported by Reuters. “We don’t have time trials like this really. We had loads of discussions with the performance coach about the pacing strategy.”
Navigating Technical Terrain Along the St. Lawrence River
The 39.2-kilometre route presented a severe test of stamina and bike handling. The course wound through Montreal along the St. Lawrence River, crossed the Samuel De Champlain Bridge, and navigated the iconic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve before culminating in a brutal uphill finish in Old Montreal.
Tour de France champion Demi Vollering of the Netherlands struggled to match the pace of the top specialists, ultimately finishing eighth, 1 minutes and 49.94 seconds behind Reusser.
Reflecting on her performance, Vollering noted: “I think I cannot be negative yet. I felt it was a good time trial, a good rhythm, and I was actually happy. Then I heard Marlen was coming from the back, and I was like: ‘Wow, Marlen is flying today like all the other time trials.’ I lost a little bit of focus at this moment, but tried to come back to it. I had thought I was doing well. But it was really a course for the specialists.”
Podium Standings and Race Metrics
| Position | Rider | Country | Time / Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marlen Reusser | Switzerland | 50:24.44 |
| 2 | Zoe Backstedt | Great Britain | +40.11 s |
| 3 | Franziska Koch | Germany | +45.54 s |
| 8 | Demi Vollering | Netherlands | +1:49.94 |
The meticulous planning between Reusser and her performance staff paid dividends on a course designed to punish any miscalculation in effort. By maintaining discipline through the bridge crossings and the technical turns of the Formula 1 circuit, the Swiss rider cemented her status as a top time trialist in international cycling.
The Broader Context of International Cycling Excellence
Reusser’s triumph in Montreal follows her previous victory in Kigali in 2025, cementing a dominant era for the Swiss athlete in elite individual time trials.
