Over the past few years, she has won numerous medals and faced disappointments, but Marlen Reusser can now finally call herself world champion in the time trial. The Swiss rider proved to be by far the fastest in Kigali. A strong Anna van der Breggen claimed the silver medal, while Demi Vollering took bronze.
After plenty of previews, predictions, and reflections, the moment had finally arrived. The World Cycling Championships in Rwanda kicked off on Sunday with the elite women's time trial. The best time trialists of the moment faced a challenging 31.2-kilometer course in and around Kigali — including as much as 460 meters of climbing within roughly forty minutes.
With the now-retired Grace Brown absent, three riders seemed poised to succeed the Australian as the world’s best time trialists. From a Dutch perspective, all eyes were especially on Demi Vollering. Switzerland had a potential winner in Marlen Reusser, while two-time world champion Chloe Dygert aimed to keep the American time trial legacy alive.
First indication
But first, the lesser-known names rolled off the start podium. Rwandan Xaveline Nirere had the honor of opening the race for her home crowd in Kigali. As if that wasn’t enough, she also briefly took a seat in the hot seat after her time trial. However, this was short-lived as her finishing time of 50 minutes and 8 seconds was quickly erased from the leaderboard, first by Soraya Paladin, then by Hao Zhang.
Anna van der Breggen logged the first fast finishing time – photo: Cor Vos[/caption]
The Chinese rider surprisingly smashed Paladin’s time: at the finish line the difference was more than a minute. However, Zhang soon had to give way to Sigrid Haugset, who completed the time trial a full minute faster. The Norwegian had no illusions, though, as the real world-class competitor was on her way: Anna van der Breggen. After a blazing start, the Dutchwoman appeared to set the first benchmark time.
Van der Breggen with very sharp finishing time
With a time of 44 minutes and 1 second, the 2020 Imola world champion punctuated an impressive performance, but was it enough for the world title? To know that, we had to wait for the split times of Marlen Reusser, Chloe Dygert, and Demi Vollering—seen beforehand as the top contenders for the rainbow jersey.
These time trial powerhouses seemed to have a real challenge beating Van der Breggen’s time, as Katarzyna Niewiadoma — no stranger to strong performances — was a hefty two and a half minutes slower than the Dutchwoman. Even Cédrine Kerbaol — also known as a proven time trial expert — couldn’t get close to the leading time. Was this a sign of a potentially surprising result?
photo: Cor Vos[/caption]
Showdown between Reusser and Vollering?
Reusser clearly had other plans. The Swiss rider blasted off the start blocks and posted a new top time at the first checkpoint. The time trial specialist — who had yet to claim a world title in this discipline — cut fifteen seconds off Van der Breggen’s time. And what about the other two favorites? While Dygert had already lost 28 seconds early on, Vollering managed to keep pace.
After about ten kilometers, the difference between Reusser and Vollering was a mere 0.68 seconds in favor of the Swiss, setting the stage for a thrilling duel for the world title. Correction: It was a three-way battle, since Van der Breggen was not out of the race yet. Reusser lost some time going into the third checkpoint, allowing the Dutchwoman to close the gap. Meanwhile, Dygert was effectively out of contention: the two-time world champion was having an off day.
Finally a win for Reusser
There was certainly no off day for Reusser, who saved the best for last. With a phenomenal final section, she doubled her lead over Van der Breggen. Posting a finishing time of 49 minutes and 3 seconds, she reached out for the world title. The only rider who could still deny her was Vollering, but the Dutchwoman lost more and more ground in the closing kilometers. Soon, Vollering had to worry even about losing a medal.
Vollering had a strong start, but had to pay the price – photo: Cor Vos
Vollering clearly paid for her blazing start but still managed to secure a bronze medal ahead of Brodie Chapman. However, it all played out in the shadow of Reusser, who scored the biggest victory of her career the day after her 34th birthday.
UCI World Championship Kigali TT| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 43:09 | |
| 2 | + 53 | |
| 3 | + 01:05 | |
| 4 | + 01:22 | |
| 5 | + 01:25 | |
| 6 | + 01:29 | |
| 7 | + 01:34 | |
| 8 | + 01:38 | |
| 9 | + 02:26 | |
| 10 | + 02:32 |
