European Cycling Championships 2023: Tarling and Reusser win time trial title, Küng covered in blood at the finish line

Reusser thus secured her third European time trial title in a row - on her 32nd birthday. Although the elite have only been competing for European titles since 2016, the Swiss rider is still not the record winner, as Ellen van Dijk from the Netherlands won the first four events.

>> Overview of all competitions at the 2023 European Cycling Championships

Reusser remained unchallenged at all times on the 29.5 kilometre course, which starts at Emmen Zoo and finishes in the city. None of the 30 starters could come close to her. The closest she came was her SD-Worx team-mate Anna Henderson (Great Britain), who took the silver medal. Less than a second behind her, Christina Schweinberger took bronze.

"It's really something special to have won for the third time in a row," said Reusser in the winner's interview. "The course suited me well, and I'm also a very good climber at the moment. But the fact that it wasn't so technical suited me."

The two German starters Katharina Fox (Maxx-Solar - Rose) and Lisa Klein (Lidl-Trek) delivered decent results with 11th and 12th place out of 30 riders. At 1:27 and 1:33 minutes, the gap was also kept within limits. For the 27-year-old Fox, who is actually a teacher, this is a great success at her first European Championships.

European Cycling Championships 2023: Results individual time trial elite women

1. Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) 35:53
2. Anna Henderson (Great Britain) +0:43
3. Christina Schweinberger (Austria) +0:44
4. Audrey Cordon-Ragot (France) +0:48
5. Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) +0:49
6. Anne Kiesenhofer (Austria) +0:56
7. Riejanne Markus (Netherlands) +1:00
8. Eugenia Bujak (Slovenia) +1:09
9. Elinor Barker (Great Britain) +1:12
10. Valeriya Kononenko (Ukraine) +1:22

Former European champion Küng crashes heavily, but rides through

The men's race was just as clear-cut as the women's race. Tarling, just 19 years old and the youngest starter in the field, outclassed the big-name competitors, even though world champion Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and his runner-up Filippo Ganna (Italy) were not at the start.

But last year's Swiss winner Stefan Bissegger finished second this time, 42 seconds behind Tarling. And one ahead of Wout Van Aert, who is unlikely to be happy with bronze and, above all, the large gap to the youngster. "I felt worse than at the World Championships," said Tarling, third at the World Championships in Glasgow.

The two German starters finished in the middle of the field. Max Walscheid finished 15th, 1:44 minutes behind Tarling, and was satisfied with his result. "I did a good race and rode what I could. I didn't find the wind too bad, but mentally it was very tough, just keeping my head down and riding straight ahead. It felt a bit like riding a roller, and that's not necessarily my favourite." Miguel Heidemann finished in 21st place.

>> The German squad for the European Cycling Championships in Drenthe

For a long time, former European champion Stefan Küng was also on course for a medal. However, the Swiss rider crashed on the final kilometres on a straight stretch after losing control of his racing bike for a moment. Covered in blood, with several wounds to his face and a broken helmet, he nevertheless dragged himself to the finish line and, in eleventh place, was still better than the majority of the 32 starters.

European Cycling Championships 2023: Results individual time trial elite men

1. Joshua Tarling (Great Britain) 31:30
2. Stefan Bissegger (Switzerland) +0:42
3. Wout Van Aert (Belgium) +0:43
4. Mikkel Bjerg (Denmark) +1:09
5. Mattia Cattaneo (Italy) +1:13
6. Nelson Oliveira (Portugal) +1:15
7. Daan Hoole (Netherlands) +1:22
8. Remi Cavagna (France) +1:25
9. Yves Lampaert (Belgium) +1:25
10. Sjoerd Bax (Netherlands) +1:29