The rainbow jersey for the women's individual time trial will pass to new shoulders on Thursday at the UCI Road World Championships in Scotland.
With defending champion Ellen van Dijk out on maternity leave and Annemiek van Vleuten skipping the time trial, Swiss rider Marlen Reusser is the top favourite for the 36.2km test in Stirling, especially after her time trial victory at the Tour de France Femmes.
Last year, SD Worx missed out on both the road race to Van Vleuten and the time trial, where Van Dijk and Australia's Grace Brown out-paced Reusser in Wollongong.
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"The time trial gold was actually not immediately among my goals at the beginning of the year. I mainly focused on the Classics and stage races. But with the World Championships coming up, I'm dreaming of the rainbow jersey again," Reusser said in an SD Worx press release ahead of Thursday's race.
European time trial champion Reusser dismissed her recent victory in Pau as a benchmark for Worlds, however. "The course in Glasgow cannot be compared to that in Switzerland or in the Tour de France Femmes.
"I have a kind of love-hate relationship with time trials. I never really look forward to it, because you know in advance that it will be gruelling.
"But the closer the World Championships came, the more I was drawn to it and the more it itches. My season is already super, an individual world title would be the icing on an already very nice cake."
Reusser, who won the mixed relay team time trial for the second year in succession on Tuesday with Switzerland, is set to make the Paris Olympics her main goal for 2024. There, she hopes to go one better than the time trial silver medal in Tokyo – a place behind Van Vleuten.
"Next year I will make a big goal of the time trial. I have the Paris Olympics and also the world championships at home [in Switzerland in 2024] ticked in red. But if I can win an individual rainbow jersey as early as this week, I won't pass it up."
With Reusser and Demi Vollering – who was second in Pau – SD Worx riders top the favourites list in Sunday's women's road race, too, among them Reusser whose win in Gent-Wevelgem this spring demonstrated her one-day race prowess.
She will not have the benefit of her trade teammates in the road race but says SD Worx aims to bring the rainbow bands back to the team, whether it's via Reusser, Vollering, Lotte Kopecky, or Lorena Wiebes, who is battling illness this week.
"It's strange to always race together and now, we somehow race against each other but it's the goal of the team to have the world champion in the team. It's not that easy," she said.
"I think we are the strongest, generally. Lorena – I heard she is not too good, I don't know what she has but I hope she's good for Sunday. That's one very strong rider less. I think there are also some others to consider."
