Marlen Reusser reveals ‘Project Dijon’ after Tour de France Femmes time trial win and yellow jersey

Marlen Reusser (Movistar) scored a double victory on Tuesday in the Tour de France Femmes individual time trial, which finished in Dijon. The Swiss rider, who is also the reigning world champion in the discipline, delivered as the pre-stage favourite by taking both the stage victory and the yellow jersey. Afterwards, she reflected on the performance in her typically animated manner, with broad gestures and plenty of joyful words.

Reusser had spent the previous days racing in her home country of Switzerland, where this year’s Tour de France Femmes began, but she said the team had long been looking ahead to what it called ‘Project Dijon’. The nickname referred to both the race leader’s yellow jersey and the famous yellow mustard associated with Dijon.

“We had been calling this ‘Project Dijon’ within the team since Christmas, with a little nod to yellow Dijon mustard,” the Movistar leader explained. “The dream was to win this time trial and take yellow at the same time. You know something like that is never guaranteed, even when you prepare for it for months, but for the plan to work out exactly as we hoped is absolutely fantastic. It is a very special moment for the whole team.”

Reusser won the stage by four seconds from Visma | Lease a Bike’s Dutch rider Lieke Nooijen, while general-classification rival Demi Vollering placed third, 18 seconds down. The FDJ United-SUEZ leader now sits 14 seconds behind yellow jersey Reusser in the overall standings. Even after pulling on yellow, however, the Swiss rider was still mainly caught up in the excitement of her time-trial victory.

“It was not a flawless ride, but it went well,” Reusser said. “I started strongly and rode the climb well. I did have a few small problems with my bike, and the wind also played a part. During the recon, the course had felt different, so I had to adjust my tactics while I was racing. In the end, though, it was a very solid time trial, and I am incredibly satisfied with the result.”

“It is also very special to take the yellow jersey in a Tour de France that started in Switzerland. This Tour was my main goal of the year, and I came here as the team leader. We had known for a long time that the race would begin in Switzerland — on our national day, no less — and that stage four would be a time trial in Dijon. To be standing here in yellow now is a dream.”