Marlen Reusser has done it again. The Swiss powerhouse successfully defended her elite women’s individual time trial title in Montréal, delivering another demonstration of perfectly controlled speed against the clock.
Reusser covered the challenging 39.9-kilometre course 40 seconds faster than Great Britain’s Zoe Bäckstedt, who claimed a superb silver medal. Germany’s Franziska Koch completed the podium with bronze.
Marlen Reusser was unstoppable
Demi Vollering never found the speed needed to challenge for the rainbow jersey, finishing eighth at 1:49. Dutch compatriot Lieke Nooijen was 12th, more than two minutes behind the winner.
Nearly 40 kilometres—and a sting in the tail
The elite women faced a course just shy of 40 kilometres around Montréal. Much of it was fast and relatively flat, giving the big engines plenty of room to wind themselves up, but the final kilometres tilted upward and demanded something extra from already tired legs.
Defending champion Reusser started as the clear favourite, although Vollering, Bäckstedt and several other strong riders against the clock gave the race plenty of possibilities.
Belgium’s Lotte Claes posted an early benchmark of 52:34, only for Poland’s Dominika Włodarczyk to beat it by 10 seconds. Those times gave the riders something to chase, but the real medal battle would begin when the heavy hitters rolled down the start ramp.
Nadia Gontova was top Canadian in 19th place
Franziska Koch was among the first to turn the race on its head. The German carved more than a minute from the fastest time and settled into the hot seat with a performance that quickly began to look worthy of a medal.
Bäckstedt starts fastest
The first time check produced a few surprises.
Zoe Backstedt won Silver for Great Britain
Bäckstedt blasted through with the quickest time, three seconds ahead of Koch. France’s Cédrine Kerbaol was also flying, sitting only one second behind the British rider.
Reusser, the final starter, was seven seconds down on Koch at that point and therefore 10 seconds behind Bäckstedt. It was hardly a disaster, but the defending champion had some work to do.
Taylor Knibb was top American in 13th place
The Dutch challenge was already beginning to fade. Vollering and Nooijen conceded 34 and 31 seconds respectively to Bäckstedt at the opening checkpoint, leaving both with a serious deficit in the fight for the podium.
Franziska Koch took Bronze
The Reusser diesel reaches full power
This is where Reusser began to look like Reusser.
By the second intermediate check, the big Swiss motor was fully up to temperature. She had cut Bäckstedt’s advantage to just two seconds and was visibly gaining momentum as the course began to take its toll.
Bäckstedt continued to hold the virtual lead and extended her advantage over Koch and Kerbaol, but Reusser was now coming fast from behind.
Kerbaol appeared to pay for her rapid start, fading over the final portion of the course and finishing 24 seconds slower than Koch. Elisa Longo Borghini went the other way, producing a powerful finish to come within just four seconds of the German’s time.
Koch remained in the hot seat—but everyone was watching the time gaps further back on the road.
Olivia Baril – 23rd place for Canada
Reusser takes control
By the third time check, Reusser had transformed a deficit into a 13-second advantage over Bäckstedt.
The title defence was on.
Reusser powered through the final kilometres and caught Vollering, who had started ahead of her—a striking visual confirmation of just how quickly the Swiss rider was travelling.
Bäckstedt lost time to Koch over the closing section, but still did enough to beat the German at the finish and guarantee herself at least the silver medal.
Only Reusser remained on the course.
There would be no late drama. The defending champion continued to stretch her advantage all the way to the line, stopping the clock 40 seconds faster than Bäckstedt.
Kristen Faulkner finished 21st for the United States
Back-to-back rainbow jerseys
It was a masterclass in pacing from Reusser. She did not panic after trailing at the first checkpoint, steadily increased her speed through the middle of the race and then crushed the final section.
The result delivered her a second consecutive elite women’s world time trial championship and another year in the rainbow skinsuit.
Bäckstedt’s silver confirmed her place among the world’s best against the clock, while Koch’s excellent early ride held up for bronze.
Vollering crossed the line eighth, 1:49 behind Reusser, while Nooijen finished 12th at more than two minutes.
On a course built for raw horsepower, Marlen Reusser once again proved that she has the biggest engine of them all.
World Championships 2026 Elite Women’s Time Trial Results
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