“It’s definitely not over for next week” - Demi Vollering defiant after Marlen Reusser catches her en route to dominant World Championship win
CyclingSunday, 20 September 2026 at 23:00
Demi Vollering refused to let a disappointing eighth place in the women’s elite time trial dampen her World Championship ambitions in Montréal, insisting there is still plenty to come after Marlen Reusser caught and passed her on the road during a dominant title defence.
Vollering finished 1:49.94 behind the Swiss winner after struggling to match the leading pace across the 39.2-kilometre course. Reusser, who started 90 seconds later, had already erased that entire gap before the finish and went on to retain the rainbow jersey by 40.11 seconds over Zoe Bäckstedt.
The Dutchwoman’s medal challenge had begun to unravel much earlier. She was only 12th fastest at the opening checkpoint after 10.5 kilometres, already 34 seconds behind Bäckstedt, while Reusser was ten seconds off the Briton at the same point.
From there the two late starters headed in opposite directions. Reusser reduced her deficit to just two seconds at the second split, moved 13 seconds ahead by the third and continued to pull away through the closing kilometres.
Vollering nevertheless felt considerably better on the bike than an eighth-place finish might suggest. “Actually, I rode quite a good time trial,” she told Sporza afterwards. “I felt like I was riding well. I had found a good rhythm and maybe I didn’t always take the corners particularly well, but sometimes you have days like that.”
A falta de 7 km, Marlen Reusser sobrepasa a una Demi Vollering que había salido minuto y medio antes#Montréal2026 pic.twitter.com/I5oPltj668
— elsterrato (@elsterrato) September 20, 2026
“Wow. Okay, that’s impressive”
The clearest indication of how quickly Reusser was moving came when Vollering was warned that the defending champion was closing from behind. “I was able to put my power down well and I thought I was going well, but then I heard that Marlen was going to catch me,” she recalled. “Then I thought: ‘Wow. Okay, that’s impressive.’”
Reusser eventually stopped the clock in 50:24.44. Bäckstedt secured silver at 40.11 seconds, with Franziska Koch taking bronze at 45.54. Elisa Longo Borghini missed the podium by fewer than five seconds, while Cédrine Kerbaol completed the top five.
Vollering came home behind Antonia Niedermaier and Lotte Kopecky in eighth, ending a run of two successive World Championship time trial podiums. She had taken bronze behind Chloe Dygert and Grace Brown in Glasgow in 2023 and again reached the podium in Zürich in 2024, but Montréal never developed into another medal ride.
“My numbers were quite okay, so I’m not very dissatisfied,” Vollering said. “In the end you hope for more, but look at the result. Everyone who finished ahead of me is a top-class rider in this discipline.”
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“It’s definitely not over”
Vollering was already looking beyond the time trial when she reached the mixed zone. “I didn’t do badly and it’s definitely not over for next week,” she said. “The road race will be something completely different again.”
The Montréal road race presents a very different test from Sunday’s long individual effort, with Vollering returning to the discipline in which she has built the bulk of her biggest victories.
She will also arrive with a recent World Championship record that extends well beyond the time trial. Vollering took road-race silver in Glasgow in 2023 and has remained one of the central figures in the Dutch team through the seasons since.
First comes recovery and an examination of where nearly two minutes disappeared against Reusser. “I just need to recover now and look with my coach at where I lost the time,” Vollering said. “I don’t think I’m very dissatisfied.”
Eighth place was well short of Vollering’s recent World Championship standards against the clock, but there was no attempt afterwards to dress the result up as anything more dramatic than that. Montréal still has another rainbow jersey to offer next weekend, and Vollering left the time trial already talking about her chance to fight for it.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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