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With a massive day of climbing in store, a dramatic final stage of Tour de Suisse appears to be on the cards Sunday.
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Marlen Reusser is the new race leader of the Tour de Suisse Women (Photo: Pascal von Büren/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images) (Photo: Eurasia Sport Images)
A huge showdown is brewing at the Tour de Suisse Women following a dramatic time trial Saturday, one day in advance of one of the toughest mountain stages on this year’s race calendar.
Defending Suisse champion Marlen Reusser went into the stage back in fifth place overall, with her 55 second deficit to Elisa Longo Borghini due in part to going the wrong way on stage two.
However the Swiss Movistar Team rider put in a dominant performance in the flat 23.7km time trial in Aarburg, tearing around the course to decimate her GC rivals.
The world TT champion beat stage 3 sprint winner Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM) by 11 seconds but, crucially, bettered the time of Longo Borghini by 1’05 to overhaul her in the general classification and to seize the yellow jersey.
“It was very hard, really very, very hard. I went really hard from the start and I was suffering a lot,” Reusser said.
“Of course you go fast, but you don’t know if the others go faster. This course feels fast anyway, even if you don’t go fast. I didn’t know anything until I arrived at the finish line. Everything for me was possible.”
Reusser’s leap up the general classification was made a little more straightforward by the withdrawal of Lauren Dickson (FDJ United – Suez), who was sitting second overall but was a non-starter due to a fractured collarbone suffered close to Friday’s stage end.
Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Steffi Häberlin (SD Worx-Protime) were 20 seconds and 1 second ahead of her in the overall, with Kasia Niewiadoma just three seconds behind.
However Reusser delivered on her superior TT pedigree in the test, hammering Niewiadoma by 1.46, Van Dam by 1.55 and Häberlin by 2.27 over the 23.7km distance.
‘Tomorrow is going to be super tough’
Marlen Reusser looked very aero and blasted around the course to win the TT (Photo: Pascal von Büren/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Longo Borghini did what she could to resist but ended up losing over a minute and, with that, the Tour de Suisse Women’s yellow jersey.
“This year I think I can’t really do TTs, I don’t know why,” the Italian said. “I just can’t really push the power I would like to, the one that I would usually push on the road bike. It is a bit disappointing, but it is what it is.
“I tried to defend myself as much as I could.”
Reusser ended the day ten seconds clear of her in the overall. Cédrine Kerboal (EF Education-Oatly) put in a solid performance to place tenth in the TT and jumps four places to third overall. She is 1:20 back. Van Dam slips to fourth, 1:35 behind, while Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Femke De Vries is at 1:43 and Niewiadoma I at 1:49.
Kim Le Court (AG Insurance Soudal) is at 2:01.
What will have the Tour de Suisse organizers rubbing their hands with glee is Sunday’s final stage. It is a 101.1km race starting and finishing in Villars-sur-Ollon and features two categorized climbs and also the unclassified but taxing summit finish.
There is hardly a meter of flat roads and, in total, the rider will rack up 3160 meters of climbing.
“It is a day that is exceptionally hard,” said Reusser. “It is really a special course. I think one weak moment, one weak day, weakness of legs can change the whole GC for sure. Not only getting me out of yellow but also for others.
“I think tomorrow is going to be super tough and who is going to win, and who is going to be where, we will see at the end of the race.”
‘It’s really exiting’
Elisa Longo Borghini rode hard to try to defend yellow but now needs to fight back on Sunday (Photo: Pascal von Büren/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Reusser took two stages last year plus the overall, beating Demi Vollering by 36 seconds and Niewiadoma by 1:56.
However Longo Borghini has looked stronger than Reusser thus far on the climbs of this year’s race. She was philosophical about losing time in the TT and, tellingly, hinted at a degree of optimism about the final stage.
“For sure to lose a minute and ten on Marlen is okay, she is the world champion,” she said. “I would have liked to keep the jersey, but it is what it is.”
She appeared optimistic when asked her thoughts about Sunday’s Suisse concluder.
“It’s really exciting to be honest. I am looking forward to tomorrow.”
Niewiadoma was climbing best of all on the opening stage, although she seemed to detonate her own legs when she put in repeated attacks on the penultimate climb of stage two and then couldn’t follow Longo Borgini on the final ascent.
On her day she is arguably the best pure climber in the peloton and will go all in on Sunday to try to turn things around. Being 1:49 is undoubtedly a setback, but with riders such as Kerbaol, Van Dam and Le Court also more than a minute behind, alliances are more than possible.
If Reusser and Longo Borghini become enmeshed in a personal battle there may be room for a daring long range move, perhaps with ace descenders Kerbaol and Niewiadoma letting fly on one of the two descents of the Col de la Croix.
Swiss favorite Reusser is in the driving seat for now but with such a daunting day to come, nothing is guaranteed and everything is possible.