Marlen Reusser silver medal at Tokyo 2020 Individual Time Trial brings Alé BTC Ljubljana to the Olympic podium

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​Swiss Marlen Reusser is silver medalist in the Individual Time Trial at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. An extraordinary performance, the confirmation of the talent of this girl that after the silver medal at the World Championships of Imola 2020, brings the team Alé BTC Ljubljana also on the Olympic podium.

It is a historic day for the Italian team, which for the first time in its history wins a medal at the Olympics, the greatest sporting event on the planet. Reusser, 29 years old, already Swiss Road and Time Trial champion this year, crowns with a precious Olympic medal a path of meticulous work carried out by the Swiss with her national team and the whole team that together have strongly believed in this result.

The gold medal was won by Dutchwoman Annemiek Van Vleuten who covered the 22.1 km of the Japanese circuit of Fuji in a time of 30:13. Marlen Reusser was second at 56 seconds with an extraordinary final comeback. Third and bronze medal the other Dutch Anna Van der Breggen at 1:01. In the race there was also another exponent of Alé BTC Ljubljana, the Spanish champion Mavi Garcia who finished in 23rd place at 4:26 from the winner.

A great joy for Marlen Reusser, who says from Tokyo: “I’m really happy. The race wasn’t perfect. I made a few mistakes and had a few problems, but I gave my best and everything I had because I think that in the life of an athlete there aren’t many chances to try to win an Olympic medal. I have worked so hard, even with the team, to get here and to stand on the podium in Tokyo with a silver medal around my neck is something crazy that makes me proud and super happy”.

The president of Alé BTC Ljubljana Alessia Piccolo is also beaming: “I’m very happy because this is the first time we have won a medal at the Olympics with our team and this fills me with pride. It was one of our goals to reach the Olympic Games and we were present with four girls who all did well, but today Marlen gave us a great joy. She is a warrior, a very determined athlete who has prepared meticulously for this event and I am very happy for her. She is a girl with a great personality, who has shown that with sacrifice, work, determination, head and great legs, you can achieve important results. We are happy to have accompanied her in this adventure and to have her with us in our team”.

The team manager Fortunato Lacquaniti expresses great satisfaction: “I think winning an Olympic medal on the road is something exceptional. The maximum for a sportswoman and for a team. Every four years there are six road cycling medals up for grabs, and to win one for a team means making history. This is the only race where the other medals count as well as the gold. To be able to do it in a speciality as complex as the Time Trial and against top-level opponents is even more satisfying. We wanted to believe in this girl, we have worked hard in the development of materials and in great synergy with the Swiss national team and a great result has arrived. Among other things, on a course that is not too well suited to her characteristics and her physical performance, and so I must say that Marlen outdid herself today. With this condition, on a course that was a bit more suitable, she would certainly have gone for the gold. It is the first Olympic medal in the history of our team and for an important but small team like ours it is something extraordinary and repays all the work done by the whole team and staff. Marlen was aiming for it, we took her with us and supported her in her work, we coordinated well with her national team and coach Edy Tesler and all together we achieved this great goal. I would like to thank Marlen, the Zecchetto family, our president Alessia Piccolo, all the sponsors, the staff and the girls who have shared this wonderful journey”.

Four athletes of Alé BTC Ljubljana are participating in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with their respective national teams. All of them had participated last Sunday in the Road Race: 12th the Spanish Mavi Garcia, 19th the Slovenian Eugenia Bujak, 44th the Italian Marta Bastianelli and 46th the Swiss Marlen Reusser. Now, in the wake of this beautiful medal, we look forward to the end of the season with confidence.