Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team) lived up to her status as ITT favourite on stage 4 of the Tour de Suisse Women, jumping to the top of the General Classification. The Bernese cyclist prevailed on the 23.7-kilometre circuit around Aarburg in a time of 29:36 minutes. Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon//SRAM Zondacrypto) finished second 11 seconds behind, with Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek) rounding out the podium in third at 54 seconds.
Reusser set off to loud applause and showed she meant business from the start. By the intermediate time check she was already 5 seconds ahead of Bäckstedt, who had previously been the first rider to dip under the 30-minute mark. In the second half of the course Reusser extended her advantage further, clearly beating the time set by the Briton.
For Reusser it marks another major success in her specialist discipline. The ITT World Champion used the stage to shake up the General Classification. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), who had started in the yellow jersey, lost 1:05 minutes to Reusser finishing fifth on the stage and surrendering the lead.
In the overall standings Reusser is on top heading into the final stage. She leads Longo Borghini by 10 seconds. Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education Oatly) moves up to third at 1:20 minutes. Steffi Häberlin (Team SD Worx Protime) remains in the top 10 in eighth position. Jasmin Liechti (Swiss Cycling) performed strongly, finishing just out of the top ten in eleventh place.
Villars-sur-Ollon to stage the decider
The Tour de Suisse Women remains wide open ahead of the final day. Stage 5 on Sunday features a circuit around Villars-sur-Ollon. Over the 101.1 kilometres route, the riders face two categorised climbs and a total of 3,160 metres of elevation gain. Defending champion Reusser goes into the final stage as leader but Longo Borghini is only 10 seconds behind. It will be a gripping battle for overall victory right up to the finish of the final stage.
