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Belgium shows its dirtiest side this first weekend of April. Gusts of wind drizzle over the cobbled Flemish streets. The thermometer reaches just over ten degrees Celsius. Certainly again to crawl under a thick blanket on the couch at home. But the Flemish city of Oudenaarde bustles with racing bike enthusiasts on Friday mornings. Thousands of steps on a bicycle. Because the event of the year is coming up in Oudenaarde: the Tour of Flanders.
Marlen Reusser (31) is someone who is not tempered by wind and rain. The born Berner cheerfully gets on her racing bike at 10 a.m. on Friday with her colleagues from Team SD Worx to visit the most important points of the 157-kilometre route. Blick attaches to her rear wheel and guides her on the iconic route. But it soon turns out that this is easier said than done.
Hellish hills in flat Flanders
On the first climb with a brutal slope of 20 percent and slippery cobblestones, Reusser sometimes loses the car companion. The road is so steep and slippery that cars cannot climb the hill. Reusser just smiles and downshifts for us. “It can be fun on Sunday. I can already see it coming, the whole field is pushing the motor up the hill.” Once at the top, the Emmentaler races away again across the otherwise flat Flanders. She’s gone
Only at the end of the tour do we see Marlen Reusser again. Despite a steep climb of almost 18 percent again, she happily chats with teammates and even has a smile for the camera. Within seconds, the vice world champion in the individual time trial has passed the camera and microphone again.
Unexpected triumph
We meet Marlen Reusser again a little later in the team hotel, strengthened and warmed up. Although it wasn’t really cold, says the qualified doctor. “Belgium could be much worse!” During their triumphant victory in Gent-Wevelgem last Sunday, the thermometer showed even fewer degrees. In addition, Reusser had been dragging around with a nasty cold for weeks. And yet she practically rode solo to victory.
Everything is possible
The next high could follow immediately. Marlen Reusser is one of the favorites of the prestigious Tour of Flanders. “I know that I am among the absolute top riders. I know I can win this race. But I also know that anything can happen in a road race. No one is safe from falling.”
And then there are Reusser’s teammates. Where other teams are usually built around a leader, the SD Worx team has four riders realistic chances of victory. For example, the local hero Lotte Kopecky, who has superstar status in cycling-crazy Belgium. “We are certainly not going to drive for one of us. We’re going to attack, full throttle and play our game with four cards.” Marlen Reusser put her team’s result first in the interview. And yet she lets you see through – the Tour of Flanders, that’s her thing. And this year anything is possible .
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.
