Marlen Reusser

Marlen Reusser
	Reusser at the 2022 European Championships
Personal information
Full name	Marlen Reusser
Nickname	The Flying Elephant
Born	20 September 1991 (age 33); Jegenstorf, Switzerland
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	68–72 kg (150–159 lb)
Team information
Current team	Team SD Worx–Protime
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Professional teams
2019	WCC Team
2020	Bigla–Katusha
2021	Alé BTC Ljubljana
2022–	SD Worx
Major wins
	Grand Tours Tour de France 2 individual stages (2022, 2023)
Medal record
Women's road bicycle racing
Representing Switzerland
Olympic Games
World Championships
European Championships
European Games

Marlen Reusser (born 20 September 1991) is a Swiss racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Team SD Worx–Protime.^[4]

Career

She took up competitive cycling whilst at university, riding in the cycling legs of mixed relay triathlons as an amateur. She entered the road events of the Swiss national cycling championships in 2017, a few months after receiving a racing licence and whilst in the final year of studies for a degree in medicine: she won the time trial and was runner up in the road race. Her success earned her selection for that year's European Road Championships.^[4] She also rode in the women's time trial event at the 2017 UCI Road World Championships.^[5] In 2019 Reusser took up a place at the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, deciding to ride full-time. During her year with the WCC she finished third at the BeNe Ladies Tour and sixth in the World Championship individual time trial.^[4]

The following year she took a top 10 finish at Liège–Bastogne–Liège.^[4] She also rode in the individual time trial at the 2020 UCI Road World Championships in Imola, where she won the silver medal.^[6]

For the 2021 season, Reusser joined the Alé BTC Ljubljana team, following the collapse of Équipe Paule Ka.^[7] She rode in the individual time trial at the 2021 UCI Road World Championships in Brugge, where she won the bronze medal.

After one season there, she joined SD Worx in 2022.^[4] She won stage 4 of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes in a solo breakaway. She was also named most combative rider for the day. She rode in the individual time trial at the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, where she won the bronze medal - as well as the mixed team relay where she won the gold medal.

In 2023, Reusser won Gent–Wevelgem, as well as the Itzulia Women and Tour de Suisse Women stage races. At the Tour de France Femmes, she won the stage 8 time trial in Pau.^[8]

Personal life

Marleen Reusser grew up in a farming family in the Swiss Emmental. Until 16 she played violin, and participated at an arts support program at the University of the Arts Bern. In school she started running, after a couple of ankle injuries she switched to swimming and cycling. 2008–2009 she was president of the Bernese Young Greens. After matura she studied medicine and worked as assistant doctor for surgery. 2017–2018 she was in the board of the Emmental Green Party. During the preparation for the road world championship 2018 in Innsbruck, she worked part time as a doctor in the Langnau hospital.^[9]^[10]^[11]