TOUR: Marlen, you've done it: you've fulfilled your dream. After many attempts, you won gold in the individual time trial at the World Championships in Rwanda last September. What remains as an image, as a photographic memory of your success?
Marlen Reusser: If I had to pick out something, it was very special and emotional in Kigali when I stood on the podium and it became quiet for the national anthem. And then music is played that is actually composed to move people, to bring people together. It's a moment that allows our brain to experience a different emotion.
TOUR: So you had to arrive first - after crossing the finish line?
Marlen Reusser: Before that, it's so much noise: You cross the finish line, you're completely in pain, completely exhausted and through. Funnily enough, at that moment you almost don't care if you've won because you can't feel anything anyway. You're so physically exhausted, you come in with lactate 15 (mmol/l; editor's note) to the finish line. You need a few minutes to catch your breath - and then everyone wants something from you.
TOUR: You finally achieved your goal in Kigali. You were already second at the 2020 and 2021 World Championships - 15 seconds behind Anna van der Breggen in 2020 and ten seconds behind Ellen van Dijk a year later. In between, you also won Olympic silver in Tokyo. Why didn't it work out back then?
Marlen Reusser: I was still relatively new to the sport back then. When Tokyo was postponed to 2021 because of coronavirus, it was a tragedy for almost everyone. I think I was the only one who was happy about it. I was able to take another mega step during that time.
TOUR: You only burst onto the professional scene in 2017 when you won the Swiss time trial title. And until the beginning of 2019, you were still working as a doctor in hospital ...
Marlen Reusser: We knew that every extra month I get, I can develop. In Imola (at the 2020 World Cup) I made some big mistakes. We thought afterwards: I could actually have won that. Both there and in Flanders (World Cup 2021 in Leuven) there were mistakes.
TOUR: So that you can perhaps understand that a little better: What mistakes were there, what did you improve?
Marlen Reusser: I think it's a bit tricky to answer that question. After all, those who won deserved to win. Perhaps they also made mistakes. In Imola, for example, we said, I'm just going to start very hard. It went all the way to the turning point with quite a headwind. I wanted the best time there. And then bring it to the finish in the tailwind section. You should tell me that from the car over the radio (the radio link; editor's note) whether I have the best time or not.
TOUR: And?
Marlen Reusser: Then I just didn't hear anything. It's still a point of contention today. They say they told me that very well. I just didn't hear anything. I was so angry that they didn't tell me anything and thought: OK, then I'm really bad. I had almost given up on the race. Incidentally, I came through this split time measurement with a 30-second lead.
TOUR: The eventual world champion van der Breggen had not yet passed the intermediate time, but she was also around ten seconds behind later on. Was it just the announcement that you didn't hear?
Marlen Reusser: I was also very particular about my gaits. We hadn't realised that so well back then. I simply had far too high a gear ratio. Then came this one climb. I had to choke up a gear there, which meant I was totally over-paced and full of lactate at the top of the climb - I almost stood still until the finish and lost a lot of time. There was also a technical passage over a bridge in the last few kilometres leading to a counter-climb on this car racing track (the Formula One circuit in Imola; editor's note). When I see today how I rode it technically, how little momentum I had, then I can only laugh about it.
TOUR: You prefer small gear ratios, high cadence ...
Marlen Reusser: If I ride below a certain cadence, it becomes difficult for me. That's why I have to maintain the cadence. I think it's mainly an innate thing. You have a certain torque maximum (Torque is the English term for torque; editor's note). I think it is very, very difficult or even impossible to work on this.
" The time trial project benefits from work on equipment and position, but also from experience and physical development. The more of this, the better.
TOUR: Why did you win the World Championship title on 21 September 2025 of all days - the day after your 34th birthday?
Marlen Reusser: The time trial project benefits from work on equipment and position, but also from experience and physical development. The more of that, the better. A lot of steps have been taken again. I am even better. And that doesn't just mean physically, but also how I prepare and how I ride a race.
TOUR: The hilly time trial course in Rwanda was also a decisive factor in winning the title?
Marlen Reusser: The course in Kigali suited me well. I'm good on flat terrain as well as on climbs and non-technical descents. Perhaps few people can combine these different demands as well as I can.
TOUR: You have repeatedly emphasised that you have a big engine, as they say in cycling. But high continuous performance alone is not enough in the individual time trial. What other adjustments have you made? How involved are you in this topic?
Marlen Reusser: Of course, I've worked a lot on aerodynamics over the last few years and I'm happy to get advice. So, I'm interested, but I'm not the tinkerer. You have to do it in small steps with lots of tests. I'm completely impatient and don't like doing it.
TOUR: You changed teams at the start of the season, from SD Worx to Movistar. This also gave you a different time trial bike.
Marlen Reusser: We checked the position and I got a new cockpit. I now have a very comfortable position for myself. Well, comfortable in relation to what time trial positions are like. I think others invest more - both in training on the time trial bike and in technical development. But it's cool to know that I still have room for improvement.
TOUR: Man and material have to work together perfectly. How do you become one with your time trial bike?
Marlen Reusser: I can fold my hips very well, make myself very aerobic. It was like that from the beginning, it's an innate thing. So, I'm gifted by nature.
TOUR: What can you learn from other time trial world champions like Anna van der Breggen or the American Chloe Dygert?
Marlen Reusser: Anna is a masterclass in pacing and feeling herself. She simply knows exactly where her own boiling point is. She has no hang-ups or ups and downs in the race. She's stable and simply keeps her pace very precisely. That's my assessment. I don't know Chloe personally, but she probably has more of an American super-soldier mindset and says to herself: "Now I'm going to hit myself again, full blast. I'm sure both are exciting.
TOUR: In a documentary worth watching on Swiss television SRF, you explain what an individual time trial means. To put it very bluntly: It is pure pain. What fascinates you so much about this discipline?
Marlen Reusser: That's the crucial question, and of course you ask yourself the same question. The good thing is that anyone can do it. If I haven't ridden for two years, I can take a bike and just ride two kilometres at full speed and then I'll feel what pain cave means again. I don't do the whole thing just because I want to experience this pain cave. It's more a part of a bigger picture.
TOUR: Can you take the readers with you to see what it's like in your pain cave, your sporting torture chamber, the realm of pain?
Marlen Reusser: No. I think that's a subjective experience. I would have to be very gifted in literature to do that. But I recommend that readers simply try it out for themselves, discover their own world in it, with open senses.
TUOR: Can you recommend a trip to the Pain Cave?
Marlen Reusser: Yes, definitely. It's really exciting.
TOUR: The pain goes away ...
Marlen Reusser: The more you do this, the more you realise that it will somehow pass and that the suffering doesn't always have to be the same, but depends on you and the setting in your head. The same pain stimulus can be much worse on one day or much less bad on another, depending on what's going on inside you and how tired you are. It's a very exciting topic, how relative it all is and how it all passes. But I don't think I would do it if there was nothing to it - nothing that leads up to it, and not everything that comes afterwards, not all the experiences and encounters. I wouldn't just put my hand in the ice water for an hour every now and then in a quiet little room. If you did that, you'd be a bit psychopathic.
" This pain is relative. It will pass. And the suffering is not always the same. It depends on the setting in your head.
TOUR: So pain, your hand in ice water, is not what you are looking for. But you say: pain is life, it's part of life.
Marlen Reusser: You wouldn't have to look for it voluntarily. But I don't think it makes life any worse from time to time. The good thing about this pain is that you can control it yourself. You can say when it starts, when it stops, how bad it should be. People who have chronic pain or are giving birth can't just press the lap button and say it's over now.
TOUR: What is your motivation, apart from the self-awareness trip into the realm of pain: the measurable success in results, the search for personal limits, for a kind of perfection in terms of your own physical and mental performance? Or is it also about being the centre of attention and gaining recognition?
Marlen Reusser: I don't know what my motivation is. It's a very big task or challenge to understand that. I think it's parts of everything. Which I can rule out: My motivation is not just to achieve the goal. You'd be barking up the wrong tree. Because who tells you - especially in sport - that you'll ever reach your goal? It's not in your hands at all. You can see it with the men right now: if you're super great yourself but coexist with Pogačar, then you'll never achieve a certain goal. If it was a different decade, you might achieve it. If you just attach yourself to the goal, then you make yourself completely dependent and exposed. I find a lot of fulfilment in everything around it. And that's nothing other than healthy.
TOUR: You could actually say that your path to gold was something of a miracle. The SRF documentary also shows how far down you were in 2024, how devastated you were when you couldn't get back on your feet and missed the Olympic Games in Paris and the home World Championships in Zurich 2024. Can you explain to us again what happened?
Marlen Reusser: I always had a fever or high temperature and swollen lymph nodes. I was totally, totally exhausted and intolerant of stress. I was obviously ill, that was clear to me. And I thought: just find out what this illness is and how you can cure it. With the minimal amount of energy I had left, I tried to apply for trials testing new drugs. It didn't work out. Today I'm glad about that.
TOUR: You have been diagnosed with a fatigue syndrome called CFS, which is currently also much discussed under the term Long Covid.
Marlen Reusser: It was a diagnosis of exclusion. I wouldn't have realised that myself to set the record straight. There is also a very destructive narrative about this disease in Switzerland.
TOUR: CFS is a difficult disease. An illness where there is little that can be measured. Do you also feel a little crazy?
Marlen Reusser: I wouldn't use the word crazy right now. But of course you ask yourself, what is it and why do I have it? It's not as if I didn't know about it, I did learn about chronic fatigue syndrome during my studies. (CFS; editor's note) heard. But I just never thought I'd get caught out by something like that. But then I was proved wrong. When you have the flu with a sore throat or pneumonia or a runny nose, it's something you know is normal and legitimate. CFS is an illegitimate illness. Many people also struggle with this, with legitimisation. Outsiders think and say: give yourself a jolt! What? Are you tired? Just go outside, sport is good for you. The perfidious thing is: exactly what you should really be doing - exercise, a positive mindset, going outside - leads to the complete opposite. It only gets worse and worse.
TOUR: How did you get out of this downward spiral?
Marlen Reusser: Out of desperation, I then tried this seemingly alternative approach, which some people call brain retraining. The approach sounds so esoteric, but it's not. It started to help immediately. It was like magic, but it's not magic, it makes total sense. It's about rewiring your own subconscious systems through targeted work, a kind of hypnosis. The method has not yet caught on internationally. But it is a very promising approach. I know a lot of people who describe how it has worked for them. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it helps everyone. It's a tricky subject. But it works for me and it works for others and that's why I think you should be open and tell people about it.
TOUR: The concept, the method, was almost like a lifesaver or a quality of life saver?
Marlen Reusser: A lifesaver, yes.
TOUR: Have you become a better doctor now because of what you experienced as a patient?
Marlen Reusser: That in any case.
TOUR: Speaking of help: What role did your partner Hendrik Werner, who is a cyclist himself and also your coach, play?
Marlen Reusser: Of course, he played an immense role. I think it was probably even more difficult for him than it was for me. Watching probably hurts even more - plus that feeling, that helplessness, because there's simply nothing you can do. I'm very grateful that he stood by me so kindly.
TOUR: What other role has your environment played? You have indicated that the switch from SD Worx to Movistar at the turn of the year was very good for you.
Marlen Reusser: The environment in which you work is important - the vibe you perceive. The energy that is there, the ideas, the culture, dealing with each other as equals and the respect - everything is never right, but if a lot of things are good, then you can develop as a person. And then you enjoy your job. An environment has many, many effects on us. And that's why it's definitely worth looking for a suitable environment. And that's particularly interesting in cycling: a team can be very, very great for one person and not for another.
TOUR: Your team boss at Movistar, Sebastian Unzué, said that you were a born leader. How important is such a boss or leader role for you?
Marlen Reusser: I don't know what Sebastian meant exactly. I never thought about it: am I a good leader or what does it take to be a good leader? I don't have the feeling that I'm somehow a better person or have more value because I cycle faster than my colleagues. I think we all take ourselves equally seriously. I also hope that the others in the team are just as happy as I am, that everyone can enjoy themselves, that everyone has fun in their role - even if I'm the one being ridden for. That's what I've always been looking for: a team where that's the culture.
TOUR: You said in an interview that you would appreciate being your own project, your own boss. "I also have to stand up if I mess up now," you said. Do you like responsibility?
Marlen Reusser: But that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with wanting to be a leader. In cycling, you can organise your day yourself. I do everything exactly as I want. In the end, you just have to deliver - regardless of your role, whether you're the leader or a team helper. I find it exciting that I can take on this personal responsibility and work independently. In the end, you have to take responsibility for what comes out of it - otherwise you're out of the picture.
TOUR: You've now had the big success you were aiming for. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot said on the occasion of her Olympic victory on the mountain bike last year that she had to know before the Olympic race what would happen next, what would come afterwards. She wanted to get back on the road and win the Tour de France. What is driving you on in your professional career now? What are the goals you still want to achieve?
Marlen Reusser: Pauline has now won the Tour. I was a close second at the Vuelta and narrowly missed out on a win at the Giro with a bout of diarrhoea (Reusser also came second; editor's note). I wasn't able to take part in the tour. The project now is to work towards and try to win these Grand Tours. That's exciting. And I like all the work that goes into it. We have fully committed to the Giro in 2025. We're now making it more specific. I'm excited to tackle the Tour as a big goal for the team.
TOUR: Your goal is to win the Tour de France Femmes?
Marlen Reusser: Maximum performance at the Tour de France.
TOUR: When it comes to performance, you are limited by yourself, but of course also by the competition, by overpowering opponents ...
Marlen Reusser: Competition does not limit my performance. If it is too good, it limits my chances of winning.
TOUR: Depending on the opponents you meet, you may or may not win with the same performance. In the tough stage races, performance, especially in relation to body weight, is becoming increasingly important. There was a discussion after the Tour de France Femmes because the visibly emaciated Pauline Ferrand-Prévot rode away from all her rivals on the mountain. How should we deal with the problem of critical weight management - Ferrand-Prévot also set standards for her opponents and therefore for you?
Marlen Reusser: Yes, great question. It shouldn't be reduced to women's sport. The problem also exists for men. From a medical point of view, if you measure our fat percentage, half of the riders are underweight. So for me as a doctor, the question is definitely: who says where the limits are, what is healthy and what is unhealthy? And is it healthier for a Pauline to come into spring quite heavy and then push her weight down for a while? Or is it much worse what others do who keep the weight off all the time? But there are also those who - in inverted commas - look relatively normal weight, but are actually also malnourished. I think science has a lot to clarify here, and of course we have questions in our heads. What are the methods? How did Pauline do it, for example? How low can the weight be? What consequences can it have? There are no clear-cut answers. There are just lots and lots of questions and, of course, lots of warning signs.
TOUR: How do you solve the problem?
Marlen Reusser: A lot has to be done on our own responsibility. Rules could be defined. You could set very low lower weight limits. But it's not easy.
TOUR: Let's take stock of your cycling career for a moment. You once gave up your job as a doctor and embarked on a very uncertain career path in cycling, at least at the time. There was hardly any money to earn at first. In hindsight, did you do everything right?
Marlen Reusser: It was about the least courageous and least risky move ever. I could have just gone back to work. It might be a different story now, but it paid off. Why not embark on the very, very exciting adventure of cycling when you have such a back-up?
TOUR: What has cycling taught you about Marlen Reusser that you didn't know before?
Marlen Reusser: I have learnt so much. I've learnt that you can surpass yourself, even when you think you can't do anything more - and yet you can. You gain confidence in yourself and your abilities. I am now very self-confident. I've done things so often that I thought I couldn't do. And nothing bad has happened. I wouldn't want to miss these experiences. But I would also have experienced many things in hospital. It depends on how you live. If you expose yourself, face challenges, dare to do something in life, don't always think about your fears, but just do it, then you live and then you move forward. That's a nice conclusion - isn't it?
ABOUT THE PERSON
MARLEN REUSSER
Nationality Swiss
Born 20.9.1991 in Jegenstorf
Size 1.80 metres
Place of residence Andorra-La Vella
Teams
WCC Team (2019), Équipe Paule Ka (2020), Alé BTC Ljubljana (2021), Team SD Worx (2022-2024), Movistar Team (since 2025)
Important successes
World Champion Individual Time Trial (EZF) (2025), European Champion EZF (2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025), Olympic silver medallist EZF (2021), World Championship silver medallist EZF (2020 and 2021), World Championship third EZF (2022), World Champion Mixed Relay (2022 and 2023); Ghent-Wevelgem (2023), Itzulia Women (2023), Tour de Suisse Women (2023 and 2025), Setmana Valenciana (2024), Tour of Burgos (2025), two stage wins Tour de France Femmes (2022 and 2023), three stage wins Tour de Suisse (2023 and 2025), second Giro d'Italia (2025 and 2023)
Biography
Reusser grew up on a farm in Hindelbank in the Emmental valley - with a younger brother and an older sister. She initially tried her hand at running, but switched to triathlon and cycling due to a genetic defect in her ankle. She tested her limits on the Alpenbrevet, where she once found herself unconscious in a ditch, and on stair races, and got herself in shape for a career as a professional cyclist. After leaving school, Reusser studied medicine and worked as a surgical assistant at the hospital until February 2019. She completed her doctorate in 2021. She was also politically active. She was president of the Young Greens in the canton of Bern, sat on the Green Party board in Emmental and ran for a seat on the Swiss National Council. She follows a vegetarian diet. She currently lives in Andorra with her partner, the German cycling coach and former professional cyclist Hendrik Werner.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
