“I was like, ‘What the…’” – Marlen Reusser survives cat and mouse with Demi Vollering after near throwaway at Dwars door Vlaanderen

Marlen Reusser completed a remarkable winning return to racing at Dwars door Vlaanderen, edging Demi Vollering in a photo finish after a chaotic and almost self-inflicted collapse in the closing kilometres.

The Swiss star, racing for just the fifth time this season after injury disrupted her early campaign, came out on top of a two-up move that looked secure until hesitation and gamesmanship nearly handed victory away.

As the pair slowed in the final kilometre, Lieke Nooijen surged across from the peloton and briefly turned the finale into a three-rider contest, exposing just how close the move came to unravelling completely.

“Actually, I’m a bit surprised. I didn’t expect it like this. I’m so happy,” Reusser said in her post-race interview afterwards.

The decisive move formed inside the final 20 kilometres when Vollering bridged across to Reusser, creating a dangerous pairing that quickly established a gap over a fragmented chase.

Behind them, UAE Team ADQ took responsibility, with Elisa Longo Borghini driving the pace for Eleonora Gasparrini, while SD Worx-Protime sat on with numbers through Lotte Kopecky, Mischa Bredewold and Julia Kopecky. Despite that numerical strength, the lack of cohesion in the chase allowed the leading duo to extend their advantage.

Even so, the move was far from straightforward. Reusser admitted she had struggled early in the race, particularly with positioning, before growing into it as the finale approached. “In the beginning of the race, I felt like, ‘Ahh.’ I really had trouble positioning and stuff, but I kept being confident to help the whole team, because I think we have a super-strong team,” she explained.

That confidence carried into the decisive phase, where tactics became just as important as strength. “I think it was really key to have Cat Ferguson behind, because I knew I didn’t have to really keep pushing,” Reusser said. “I said to Demi, ‘I stay in the wheel.’ Then it was actually ideal, because she had to go, and I could follow for quite a while.”

That approach, however, contributed to a tense and disjointed final kilometre. With both riders hesitating and reluctant to commit fully, their advantage began to shrink rapidly as Lieke Nooijen launched a late move from the peloton and closed the gap.

For a moment, it looked as though the victory might slip away entirely as the race briefly came back together. “I was like, ‘What the…’,” Reusser laughed, reflecting on the moment the danger became clear.

But the effort required to bridge across ultimately left Nooijen without the final kick to contest the win. As the road tilted upwards towards the line in Waregem, the sprint was still decided between the original leading pair.

Despite Vollering’s reputation as the faster finisher, Reusser timed her effort to perfection, coming around in the final metres to take a narrow victory. “I’m really lucky with the sprint,” she said. “I think it was nice I could stay in the wheel for so long.”

Nooijen held on for third after her late surge, completing a podium shaped as much by hesitation as by strength in the final kilometres.