Marlen Reusser secures Setmana Valenciana overall ahead of Classics campaign

Marlen Reusser (SD Worx-Protime) won the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana general classification on Sunday after successfully defending the leader’s jersey earnt through her stage 2 victory.

The Swiss rider won solo on the hilly stage into La Vall d'Uixó on Friday and despite finishing fifth on stage 3 - won by her teammate Niamh Fisher-Black - Reusser still had enough of a lead going into Sunday’s final sprint stage, and finished safely in the group to win the overall.

Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) took victory on the stage, which finished in Valencia, her second of the race after also sprinting to victory on the opening day as the former world champion looks to come back to form after a difficult 2023.

Read more: Elisa Balsamo kicks off Olympic year with Valenciana comeback victory

This race marks Marlen Reusser’s third stage race victory of her career, after the 32-year-old won Itzulia and the Tour de Suisse in 2023. Reusser is often pegged as a TT specialists and rouleur-type rider, but has grown into a strong all-rounder in her time with SD Worx-Protime, winning stage races, TTs and Classics.

Their two stage wins and overall title also continues an impressive start to the year for SD Worx, who have won both the stage races they've started so far after Lotte Kopecky's UAE Tour title, and have five individual wins from just eight days of racing, for four different riders.

This spring, Reusser heads into the Classics as the defending Gent-Wevelgem champion, and will line-up as one of SD Worx’s various options, alongside Lotte Kopecky, Lorena Wiebes and Demi Vollering.

Read more: Is there space for both Lotte Kopecky and Demi Vollering at SD Worx-Protime?

Her victory in Valenciana, hillier terrain than what Reusser tends to specialise in, is a strong indicator of her early-season form, and a very positive sign heading into the Classics, both in terms of her own race-winning chances, and for what she will be able to do for her SD Worx-Protime team.

It’s a similar story for Elisa Balsamo - also a former Gent-Wevelgem winner - who is racing a slightly reduced Classics calendar, but is kicking off with Omloop het Nieuwsblad and Omloop van het Hageland next weekend.

Balsamo once won the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, Brugge-De Panne and Gent-Wevelgem in one Classics season, but 2023 marked a lacklustre spring for the Italian before a heavy crash in RideLondon derailed her summer, so the 25-year-old will take positives from her Valenciana stage wins as she looks to deliver once again in the Classics.

Visit the race hub for full results from the 2024 Setmana Ciclista Valenciana.