Reusser questions Worlds chase after her costly mistake: 'We raced for second'

Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) was left to rue a costly fueling problem that saw her caught out at the crucial moment when Demi Vollering (Netherlands) ignited the action at the World Championships in Montréal. She believes that the chasers chose to race for second rather than commit to catching the Dutch star. 

Vollering launched an explosive acceleration with 38.5km remaining on the Camillien-Houde ascent, which came at a bad moment for Reusser. 

“I mean, in the crucial moment, I ran out of gels and everything, so I was busy with the feeding, incredibly stupid. So I missed the crucial moment,” Reusser told CyclingProNet. 

Vollering would ultimately be caught by Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Poland) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy) on the penultimate lap, after the duo jumped across from the chasing pack. Reusser was also within touching distance, but was unable to bridge the gap. 

Reusser believed that there was initially a lack of commitment from the chasing group before Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma jumped across to Vollering. 

At the time, the chasing pack had three riders from France, though two, Juliette Berthet and Célia Gery, are trade teammates of Vollering, as well as two riders from Poland. 

“I think fourth place is like the ticket for racing for first place. I had the feeling I’m the only one that races really for this first place,” said Reusser. 

"Anyway, that’s already stupid, but then I just thought, ‘Let’s go for first’, and I had the feeling there were a lot of teammates around, everybody racing for second.”

“Yeah, I mean, it’s shortly after the race. This is just what is in me now. I need to watch it back, but my feeling is we raced for second.”

Reusser singled out Puck Pieterse (Netherlands) as the one rider who she believed had no reason to contribute to the chase, being Vollering’s compatriot.

“So I think I showed full commitment to pull, and most of them didn’t. I mean, Puck [Pieterse] is the only one that, of course, didn’t have to pull, and she tried to annoy, which I think is fine. Everybody else has a big reason to pull.”

Despite her frustration, Reusser acknowledged the importance of her part in being caught when Vollering made her initial acceleration.

“It's my choice, it's my mistake. But I know if people like me are just sitting in and not really pulling, nothing is going, so then Demi just wins. So yeah, it’s difficult. Better next time to not miss the move, that’s for sure better.”

In the closing kilometres, Niewiadoma-Phinney and Vollering started to look at one another as the final sprint loomed. As a result, both Longo Borghini and Reusser were closing in separately on the duo on the uphill rise to the finish on Avenue du Parc. 

Ultimately, the chasers ran out of road, and Reusser had to settle for fourth, eight seconds behind Vollering, who became the World Champion for the first time. 

“Yeah, I knew that everything I could do was just to throw everything into this last ascent here to the finish line and just hoped that they looked a bit too long at each other,” said Reusser. 

“It was tight to Elisa, at least, but it was too much for me in this moment, so fourth. Congratulations.”