"I have some self-confidence again" - Marlen Reusser clears Tour de Suisse GC win and aims for Tour de France Femmes

Marlen Reusser is a rider with inarguable amounts of talent both in the mountains and time trials, making her an almost perfect stage-racer. Yet, her 2026 season had been very difficult until this week. But at the Tour de Suisse Women, the time trial world champion showed her best level once again and confirmed the overall win today in Villars-sur-Ollon.

“This is really cool. I couldn't have wished for anything better. I am very happy with this victory,” Reusser said in a post-race interview. “Everything went as planned. I didn't start this race with a huge amount of self-confidence, but it is the Tour de Suisse. We just have to go for it. You never know.”

The home rider withdrew from the UAE Tour Women, missed the cobbled classics almost entirely, and at the Giro Donne lost a Top5 result on the final day where she cracked completely. Physical issues, namely back pain in great part, have prevented her from performing at her regular level.

This week that was not the case. The GC win is now official, even though on stage 2 her climbing legs were far from those of her biggest rival. "There was that stage where Elisa [Longo Borghini] managed to gain so much time, partly because we took a wrong turn. At that moment, I did think: it is almost impossible to win the general classification now. The fact that it worked out after all makes me really super happy.”

On the race's queen stage, featuring the 19-kilometer long Col de la Croix, Reusser was part of a front group that includes Femke de Vries and Katarzyna Niewiadoma who did not hesitate to put the yellow jersey under serious pressure. But just like she did the day before with a dominant time trial win, she controlled her rivals on the long climbs whilst Elisa Longo Borghini could not hold the pace.

“Today I was also able to benefit from the situation in the general classification. I could watch the other riders a bit more, and that made a huge difference. I felt very good for a long time, but in the end, it was a struggle for me too," she admits. "Kasia [Niewiadoma] did a huge amount of work at the front on the final climb, and that played into my hands.”

The duo rode away from the rest of the field and whilst Cédrine Kerbaol managed to come back inside the final kilometers, Reusser had been holding back. In the final kilometer she attacked towards the stage win, achieving it alongside the GC triumph.

“This victory is perhaps a bit more special. With my other wins, I knew my form was good. However, I experienced problems this year in the run-up to this race. Between the Giro and Switzerland, we worked really hard on resolving my physical issues, and that has paid off. I still have some back pain, but my legs felt much better," she admits. "I am very happy about that.”

With this level, the 34-year old will be a menace for the Tour de France Femmes where she is expected to rival the likes of Demi Vollering, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Paula Blasi. It will be a matter of remaining consistent and being able to fully put her minor injury behind.

“This is also good news for the Tour de France. I have some self-confidence again now. After the Giro, I wasn't really optimistic, but now things look a lot better," she concluded.