"Marlen Reusser was incredible... she’s in the shape of her life" - Demi Vollering explodes Tour de Suisse but misses out on stage 1 win

There was no calm entry to the 2025 Tour de Suisse Women for the GC contenders, as on the very first stage of the race, former teammates turned rivals Marlen Reusser and Demi Vollering exploded things with a long-range assault.

In the end, the pair gained 1:42 on nearest chaser Katarzyna Niewiadoma, meaning not only the stage win, but maybe even the entire general classification has already been limited to a two way battle.

"Marlen was incredible on the descent. At first, I didn’t react immediately — I was like, let the others go first. But then I realized I needed to do it myself, so I jumped after her," Vollering reflected in a post-stage interview with Cycling Pro Net, detailing the initial moments the move went away. "If you give Marlen too much space, you won’t see her back. When I caught up, I thought, 'Oh no, it’s going to be a long way to the finish,' but we worked pretty well together, which was nice."

"I didn’t feel so good today because of the heat, I think. When Marlen attacked in the last kilometre, I felt she still had a good punch, so I decided to wait for the sprint. But I think I went a bit too early and couldn’t hold myself," Vollering's reflections continued. "Marlen had a really strong sprint — she really wanted to win. Honestly, I think she’s in the shape of her life. I’ve never seen her this strong."

With the GC now looking like a fight between the former teammates, Vollering - now riding for FDJ - Suez - is well aware that every second could be vital. "I think it’s going to be a battle for the bonus seconds," she concludes. "There aren’t very long climbs in this Tour, so every day there will be a bit of a fight to gain seconds everywhere. We’ll see how it goes."