ŠENČUR — World champion Marlen Reusser will start as outright favourite to claim a record fifth European elite women's time trial title on Wednesday, on a demanding 22.1km course that starts and finishes in the central Slovenian town of Šenčur. The European Championships have featured elite races only since 2016, and in 10 editions just four riders — Ellen van Dijk, Reusser, Anna van der Breggen and Lotte Kopecky — have held the title, with Reusser able to move clear of Van Dijk's four victories after equalling the mark last year and adding a second world title in Montreal two weeks ago. Whoever wins will need to master almost 400m of vertical ascent, concentrated in the first half, including the 2km climb to Možjanca at 10.2% which tops out a third of the way through, before a tight hairpin on the descent where the surface appears poor and an almost entirely flat run to the finish.
Reusser arrives in formidable form after her dominant ride in Montreal and third place in the European road race at the weekend, and the profile should suit her once over the early steep gradients where she can build rhythm and extend her advantage on the flatter closing kilometres. The one note of caution remains the mountain time trial at this year's Giro d'Italia Women, where she finished well behind winner Anna van der Breggen, though the Dutchwoman is absent in Slovenia. History offers extra motivation, with a fifth crown putting her alone at the top of the European roll of honour.
Demi Vollering, who won the European road race on Saturday, is expected to be Reusser's closest challenger despite not having won a time trial since the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and finishing only eighth at the recent World Championships. The Slovenian course suits the Dutch rider far better than Montreal, with the early steep climb offering a chance to gain time before she must defend on the flat. Elisa Longo Borghini, just outside the medals in Montreal before winning the mixed team relay and taking third in the road race, has recovered strongly after missing much of the spring through illness and is arguably a better climber and descender than Reusser, though she has only two time trial wins outside the Italian Championships, the most recent two years ago, a decade after the first.
France's Cédrine Kerbaol, fifth in Montreal at 25 years old, is another pre-eminent climber and fine descender who continues to improve each season, while Germany have two leading contenders in Antonia Niedermaier and Franziska Koch. Niedermaier, 23 and heir to the Canyon-SRAM general classification mantle after Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney's departure, was seventh at the Worlds just over a minute behind compatriot Koch but is the stronger climber and was fourth in the Giro's mountain time trial in May, just 15 seconds behind Reusser. Koch, now with FDJ United-Suez, took bronze in Montreal and has improved exponentially this year, though the Možjanca ascent remains a significant obstacle before she can recoup time on the descent and flat. Poland's Dominika Włodarczyk, national champion and ninth at the Worlds at 25, has also progressed markedly against the clock and proved her climbing with eighth on the Mont Ventoux stage and seventh overall at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, with Niewiadoma-Phinney also lining up after a much-improved time trial at the Tour this summer.
Among those to watch are Belgium's Lotte Claes, France's Juliette Berthet after an unusually sub-par Worlds, Spain's Mireia Benito and Great Britain's Lauren Dickson, who was sixth on the Giro mountain time trial but remains developing against the clock. The contenders follow Vollering's victory in the European road race in Slovenia on Saturday, with the time trial offering a contrasting test of pacing and climbing on Wednesday.