"I'm dreaming of the rainbow jersey again" - Marlen Reusser wants individual time-trial World Title

Heading into the women's elite individual time-trial on Thursday, Swiss rider Marlen Reusser looks to be one of the hot favourites to take the World Championship win. As she reveals in a statement released by Team SD Worx, she is craving the Rainbow Jersey.

"The time trial gold was actually not immediately among my goals at the beginning of the year. I mainly focused on the Classics and stage races. But with the World Championships coming up, I'm dreaming of the rainbow jersey again," says Reusser, who survived a crash to help her nation take the win in the mixed relay team time-trial event earlier in the Championships.

"I have a kind of love-hate relationship with time trials. I never really look forward to it, because you know in advance that it will be gruelling," she continues. "But the closer the World Championships came, the more I was drawn to it and the more it itches. My season is already super, an individual world title would be the icing on an already very nice cake."

Part of the all-conquering Team SD Worx, Reusser is likely to have to battle it out with some of her teammates if she wants to take the win. "It's strange to always race together and now, we somehow race against each other but it's the goal of the team to have the world champion in the team. It's not that easy," she explains. "I think we are the strongest, generally. Lorena – I heard she is not too good, I don't know what she has but I hope she's good for Sunday. That's one very strong rider less. I think there are also some others to consider."