Crashes, illness, and unfinished business: Marlen Reusser’s shot at Giro redemption

If you want to understand the peaks and troughs of professional cycling, look no further than Marlen Reusser’s 2026 season so far.

The Movistar leader started well, with a runner-up finish in her first race of the year. Two weeks later, she was flipping over her handlebars at 60 km/h at the UAE Tour. While she somehow avoided major injury – and even managed to finish the stage – it would take almost two months for her to pin a number on again.

Her eventual return to racing, at Dwars door Vlaanderen in early April, couldn’t have gone much better. She forged the winning move late, then outsprinted former teammate Demi Vollering to take her first win of the year. The high didn’t last long.

Just four days after that victory, Reusser was looking imperious at the Tour of Flanders before she was caught up in another crash. She didn’t finish that day, and scans later revealed a vertebral fracture in her lumbar spine. Cue another lay-off of almost two months.

That lay-off, though, is finally about to end.

When Reusser lines up for the Giro d'Italia Women in Cesenatico this Saturday, she won’t just be starting a new chapter in what has been a tumultuous season so far. She’ll also be out to exorcise some demons – some new, some older – and maybe even finish what she started at last year's Giro.

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