SPEEDMAX CFR TT DOES THE DOUBLE WITH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD FOR REUSSER AND BÄCKSTEDT

Movistar's Marlen Reusser and CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto's Zoe Bäckstedt epitomise Canyon Factory Racing performance and development mentality with world champs gold in Kigali.

Sunday 21st September: In the elite women’s individual time trial, the opening race of the 2025 Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, Marlen Reusser of Team Movistar produced a masterclass on her Canyon Speedmax CFR TT to win the race and take the championship's first rainbow jersey.

The Swiss rider, who moved to Movistar and to Canyon bikes in January, has had one of the best years of her career, winning the Tour de Suisse, Vuelta a Burgos Feminas and the Swiss National Time Trial Championship in 2025, and now adds the biggest title in time trialing to her palmarès.

Speaking to Cycling News, Reusser said: "I have the feeling I was like, ten times on the podium [at the Worlds]. I can almost not believe it. I know it's real and it happened, but I tried so many times and it didn't work out. And now, I think I made it, and it's really special, but it was such an effort.

"This course, you could really, like, pace it polarised. So, I went really hard on the climbs, and then the final climb, maybe even I went too hard in the beginning, so I was full of lactic acid but I think it was the right way to pace it and I think also I have an advantage, I'm quite a heavy rider, so without a lot of effort, I still go down pretty fast, and then I can put all my effort in the climb. So I did this, and it was super hard. It was so hard. But yeah, I made it."

"I'm so glad. I'm so happy, and especially also, I know everybody says this. I mean it from deep down in my heart, so many people work with me so much to do this, some since so many years, with such a lot of passion and love, we do it together and that finally I can kind of reward it."

"I don't know if this is really something you should say, but it feels a little bit like this. So it's really the goal we worked for, and that I can achieve it now makes me happy for myself, but even more for the whole group that is around me, not only in the sport; even if the sport would not be here, I'm really full of love for these people, and it's so nice that we can do this together."

The Elite women's individual time trial also saw notable performances from Antonia Niedermaier (6th, left), Chloé Dygert (9th, centre) and Kasia Niewiadoma (14th, right) of CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto.

Meanwhile, in the Women's U23 category, CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto's Zoe Bäckstedt (GB) took gold with a dominant display, adding a World title to the British title she picked up in June. Elsewhere in the U23 category, Justyna Czapla (DE) of CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto finished a credible 7th.

Reusser and Bäckstedt both powered around their respective Kigali courses on their Speedmax CFR TT bikes, using their bike's aerodynamic supremacy and optimised weight to make light work of the distance.

The Elite Women's ITT course was 31.2 km, which Reusser won by more than 50 seconds from her nearest competitor in a time of 43m 09s and an average speed of 43.38km/h. Bäckstedt completed her 22.6km U23 course with a winning time of 30m 56s, a faster average speed of 43.84km/h (albeit with a shorter distance and less climbing) and a huge winning margin of 1m 50s.

The Speedmax CFR TT comes from Canyon's Factory Racing stable, the elite racing arm of Canyon's bike development. CFR bikes have one focused goal, providing athletes with the material to win races; something Marlen Reusser perfectly demonstrated in Kigali.

1. All action shots used with permission of Kramon.