Reusser scorches to TT victory and yellow jersey at Suisse Women

Marlen Reusser (Movistar) powered to victory in the Stage 4 individual time trial at the Tour de Suisse Women, taking the race lead from Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), who fought hard to try and defend her yellow jersey.

Reusser set a blistering pace right from the start, crossing the first intermediate checkpoint five seconds faster than the early benchmark set by Stage 3 winner Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon//SRAM).

From there, the reigning World and European time trial Champion hammered home her advantage, posting a winning time of 29:36 on the 23.7km course around Aarburg. Bäckstedt held on for second place at 11 seconds behind while Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek) claimed third, finishing 54 seconds off the winning time. 

Longo Borghini ended fifth on the stage, 1:05 behind Reusser, but it wasn't enough to retain the yellow jersey.

This triumph marks Reusser’s 37th professional road victory and her 19th in the race against the clock. Crucially, the strong performance saw Reusser slash her 55-second deficit on Longo Borghini in the GC to move into the race lead. Reusser now leads Longo Borghini by 10 seconds with only one stage remaining. 

The race will culminate in a brutal final stage featuring roughly 3,000 metres of elevation gain and a gruelling summit finish at Villars-sur-Ollon. If Reusser holds the yellow jersey on the climbs, the Swiss rider will win the Tour de Suisse Women for the second consecutive edition and third time in total.

Meanwhile, Longo Borghini will be aiming to secure her first Tour de Suisse title, having finished third overall in 2023 and 2024.