Marlen Reusser (Movistar) put forth a dominant performance at the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas stage 3, winning solo atop the Picón Blanco and taking the overall race lead, points lead, and mountains classification lead in the process.
The time trial specialist is now turning her attention to the 9.4km individual time trial on stage 4, where the 33-year-old from Switzerland has an excellent chance to win the race overall after two injury-ridden years.
“It’s my first time trial for almost two years, so I almost don’t remember,” Reusser joked about the upcoming ITT.
She tried to make light of the long time that has passed since her last outing against the clock, but the last two years haven’t been kind to Reusser: After winning the 2023 Tour de France Femmes time trial in Pau, Reusser was the big favourite for the Glasgow World Championships but abandoned the race because of mental exhaustion. She came back in September 2023 to win the European time trial title.
She suffered a heavy crash at the 2024 Tour of Flanders, fracturing her jaw, breaking eight teeth, and injuring her ear canals. Hopes of a comeback at the Paris Olympics and Zürich World Championships were dashed when Reusser continued to feel unwell after the Flanders injuries had healed.
Eventually, she was diagnosed with post-COVID syndrome and missed the entire second half of the season.
In 2025, Reusser placed in the top ten of the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, then finished runner-up to Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) in the Vuelta Femenina, being the last rider to be dropped by Vollering on both mountain stages.
And after another second place on stage 2 of the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas, Reusser could finally celebrate a victory on the Picón Blanco.
She not only took the GC lead but also moved to the top of the points and mountain classifications. When Reusser starts the time trial in the purple leader’s jersey, the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas overall victory should be a formality as she enjoys a large buffer over her rivals.
Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) is 1:10 minutes behind, Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) sits at 1:43 minutes – and in any case Reusser is the strongest time triallist of the three and will want to complete her comeback with an individual time trial victory.
