Marlen Reusser (Movistar) won back-to-back stages, smashing the finale stage 4 time trial and securing the overall victory at the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas.
The Movistar rider was the fastest in the race against the clock, beating Juliette Labous (FDJ-Suez) by six seconds and Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) by eight seconds.
In the final GC, Longo Borghini moved ahead of Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) into second place while Labous jumped to fifth place, but Reusser's overall victory was never in doubt.
“Today was a nice one because I felt good, and also, this time trial here is really nice. It’s sharp, 9km, and it was really interesting with the technical aspect. It was hard, so it was a really nice comeback on the individual time trial,” said Reusser after her first individual time trial in 20 months.
With two stage victories and a second place, Reusser was dominant in the GC, winning the race overall by almost two minutes.
“We came here with the idea that I could win the overall, but we couldn’t expect that it would be this clear, so of course we are super happy. I think I showed a nice shape, but the whole team did really great work," Reusser said.
Both in the race, but also today, I’m doing an individual time trial, but the preparation and support is a big team behind, they do a lot of things and do it so well, so I could really focus on my task."
Elisa Longo Borghini, Marlen Reusser and Yara Kastelijn on the final podium (Image credit: Getty Images)
How it unfolded
The 9.4km time trial from Villasana de Mena to Lezana de Mena was anything but straightforward, including several tight turns, narrow and bumpy roads, and about 100 altitude metres.
Rebecca Koerner (Uno-X Mobility) was the first to set a benchmark with 13:24 minutes, and the 24-year-old Dane kept the hot seat until Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) took another 19 seconds off the clock to set the new best time.
Bäckstedt settled in for a long wait as nobody came close to her 13:05 minutes until Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) finished two seconds faster, leapfrogging Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Ségolène Thomas (St Michel-Preference Home) in GC to finish in 11th place overall.
Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility) added to her stage 2 victory by setting a new best time of 13:01 minutes, moving past Valentina Cavallar (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Barbara Malcotti (Human Powered Health) to finish seventh overall.
Juliette Labous (Image credit: Getty Images)
Ottestad barely had time to get off her bike before her time was beaten, though, as Labous was the next rider on the road and broke the 13-minute mark to finish in 12:57 minutes. Longo Borghini came close but was two seconds slower, but Reusser beat Labous’ time by six seconds to win the time trial in 12:51 minutes.
In addition to the GC, Reusser also won the points and mountain jersey. Nienke Vinke, 16th overall, won the U23 jersey while Benito won the combativity prize and was the best Spanish rider. FDJ-Suez won the team classification.
Lukas Knöfler started working in cycling communications in 2013 and has seen the inside of the scene from many angles. Having worked as press officer for teams and races and written for several online and print publications, he has been Cyclingnews’ Women’s WorldTour correspondent since 2018.
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