class=”sc-29f61514-0 jbwksb”>
The swamp is their paradise. “I was born here, I grew up here, I live here today, I want to stay here,” says Marlen Reusser (31). Admittedly, this all sounds strange at first glance. Who wants to live in a swamp? Definitely Russer. And anyone who enters the grounds of the former farm in Hindelbank BE can understand them.
Located next to a forest, the homeland of Reusser offers pure idyll. There is no traffic, but cats run around comfortably. Fruit trees are in bloom, the vegetable garden is well maintained. The name of the field has long remained from the swamp that once existed here. A huge farmhouse with a half-timbered facade is the center of life. “Here I live under one roof with my parents. My sister will soon be living there, in the Stöckli. And on the other side the former milk house, that’s where I’m going to live in the future.”
Reusser: With the friend in the parlour
Reusser and her friend Hendrik Werner (40) – he is a coach at the German team Bora-Hansgrohe – still have to be patient. The plans for the renovation of the old milking parlor are ready and the applications have been submitted. “I’m treating myself to something. We’re building a room at a great height.”
What is that? Simple: a room where air with a low oxygen pressure is pumped into it. Many cyclists rely on it because the simulated altitude stimulates red blood cell production. This allows the blood to absorb more oxygen – an advantage in the races. “If this room allows me to miss one or two high-altitude training camps in the future, so much the better. I am now away from home for most of the year. »
“Cycling has isolated me socially”
The parents, the sister, herself: the Reussers all live in the same place. Only the brother is no longer on the farm. “Until two years ago, my grandparents were still here, now they are in a retirement home,” says Reusser. This raises the question of whether so much closeness to loved ones can eventually become too much. “Family cohesion is very important to all of us. And in my case, cycling isolates me socially. I have far fewer friends than I used to.”
The reason for this is that she has had to disappoint people many times because she barely has time for them and has had to turn down invitations time and time again. “That hurt me. But the smaller circle of friends compared to before is the price I pay as a professional cyclist. It doesn’t make me lonely, but the importance of family automatically increases.”
Reusser can win the tour
Reusser lives life in the fast lane. The trained doctor rides as fast as perhaps never before, winning the Gent-Wevelgem classic this year, as well as a stage on the Itzulia Woman in the Basque Country and the general classification.
Now she is looking forward to the women’s Tour de Suisse – a race she missed last year due to Corona. “I know I can win. But I’m not alone. The Tour de Suisse is definitely a matter of the heart for me.”
The long time trial (25.2km) on today’s second day of racing in a week should suit the Olympic and World Championship silver medalist. One thing is already certain: she has the best conditions in the SD Worx team – the Dutch team is the benchmark of everything in women’s cycling.
“The swamp is standing, it’s fine”
Back to Hindelbank, back in the swamp. Reusser becomes nostalgic. “I was a Luusmeitschi, and that is the most beautiful playground in the world. Here I could romp until dark. We played hide and seek and did a lot of nonsense. I consider it a great privilege to grow up here. This farm has always been been my rock’, explains Reusser during a tour.
And what if her long-awaited victory in the Tour de Suisse doesn’t work out? “Then that’s it. In the worst case, I’ll take the bike and ride back here,” she says with a smile. Reusser has lived by this idea for years. “Wherever I am in the world and whatever happens: the swamp that it says is fine. Even if all the dams break, I can always come back here.”
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
