Marlen Reusser, the reigning world time trial champion, delivered a commanding performance in the Tour de France Femmes, winning stage four's individual time trial on Tuesday. The Swiss rider's victory saw her snatch the coveted yellow jersey from Sigrid Haugset.
Riding for Movistar, Reusser completed the 21km route from Gevrey-Chambertin to Dijon in 27 minutes 30 seconds. This impressive display has given her a 14-second lead over former champion Demi Vollering of the Netherlands in the general classification.
Vollering, representing FDJ United-Suez, finished third on the day, 18 seconds behind Reusser. Her compatriot Lieke Nooijen of Visma-Lease a Bike secured second place, four seconds slower than Reusser. Sigrid Haugset, who had held the yellow jersey, dropped to fourth overall after finishing more than three minutes behind Reusser.
Reusser expressed her delight, stating, “I’m super, super happy … it’s the first Tour de France that I really saw as my goal of the year that I really targeted.” The race is set to continue on Wednesday with a 140km hilly ride from Mâcon to Belleville-en-Beaujolais.