Marlen Reusser defends world time trial title in Montreal as Zoe Backstedt takes silver
Swiss cyclist Marlen Reusser retained her world time trial title on her 35th birthday in Montreal, finishing more than 40 seconds ahead of Britain's Zoe Backstedt on the nearly 40-kilometre course.
Swiss rider Marlen Reusser retained her individual time trial world title on Sunday in Montreal, winning on her 35th birthday after overtaking Dutch competitor Demi Vollering on the road. Britain's 21-year-old Zoe Backstedt, competing in her first elite World Championship time trial, took silver after finishing more than 40 seconds behind Reusser and five seconds ahead of bronze medallist Franziska Koch of Germany, who completed the distance in 51:09. Italy's Elisa Longo Borghini finished five seconds behind Koch, while Vollering crossed the line in eighth place, 1 minute and 49 seconds behind the winning time.
Dutch rider Lieke Nooijen finished 12th in 52:40.56, 2 minutes and 16 seconds behind Reusser, in her World Championship debut over the winding route of nearly 40 kilometres. Nooijen competed just over four weeks after sustaining a broken collarbone in the opening stage of the Tour of Britain. Earlier in the season, Nooijen won the Dutch road race championship in June and took second place behind Reusser in the Tour de France Femmes time trial in August.
