There’s a reason they call the time trial the race of truth. There’s nowhere to hide; it’s just you and the bike.
World TT champ Marlen Reusser delivered a commanding performance on Saturday, winning Stage 4 of the Tour de Suisse Women. She also moved into the overall race lead after the 23.7-km individual time trial in Aarburg.
Victoria’s Sarah Van Dam gave it her all, but finished 28th, slipping to fourth overall and second in the young rider’s competition. There is, however, one more stage tomorrow for her to try and claw back some time on Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly.) Only 15 seconds separate the Canadian and the French rider. Nadia Gontova (Liv AlUla Jayco) finished 33rd, and and moved up a few spots, sitting 29th overall.
Reusser crushes the TT
The Swiss rider was among the favourites on a course designed for the specialists, featuring long, fast roads with few technical sections. The lone challenge came midway through the route with a short 600-m climb averaging just under four per cent before a flat run to the finish.
Early benchmark times were set by Australia’s Brodie Chapman, but reigning Stage 3 winner Zoe Bäckstedt soon raised the bar by becoming the first rider to break the 30-minute mark.
Reusser, starting near the end of the field, quickly showed she was on another level. She was already five seconds faster than Bäckstedt at the intermediate checkpoint before extending her advantage to stop the clock 11 seconds quicker at the finish.
The G.C. after Saturday at the Tour de Suisse
Overnight leader Elisa Longo Borghini conceded more than a minute to Reusser, while Kasia Niewiadoma also surrendered significant time.
The final stage of the Tour de Suisse Women is a doozy. The 100.4km race in and around Villars-sur-Ollon has two categorized climbs and a nasty summit finish. The men’s race will also conclude on Sunday, with the same tough finale.