Stefan Bisiger crowned himself the European Trials Champion on Wednesday. The Swiss was ahead of his compatriot of the same name, Stefan Kung, and thus booked the most beautiful victory of his career. After that, Beseiger was clearly very happy with his victory, having suffered so much misfortune earlier in the season.
The 23-year-old EF Education-EasyPost rider won the singles time trial at the UAE Tour on race day three, defeating Filippo Gana and Tom Dumoulin. Later in the spring, the Swiss had to contend with illness, which meant his preparation for the Tour de France was not optimal. The focus was on the trial at opening time in Copenhagen, but there is a crash on the slippery track. So his season seemed to be burning a bit like a night’s candle.
But at the European Championships in Munich, his level returned to where it should have been, although this did not guarantee the fastest time at the last intermediate point. About ten kilometers before the finish, Bessiger had to settle for third place behind Küng and Filippo Ganna, even though the top three candidates were within three seconds of each other. The Italian was then nine seconds slower at the finish than Bessieger, who seemed to have been the best rating for his time trial. The three seconds behind Küng was converted into a half-second lead, so that Bissegger took the title from his compatriot.
Bisseger overcomes setbacks and declares Swiss hegemony
Bissegger was inside for a while when he was in heated seat Kung and Ganna’s entry can be seen. It led to exciting moments, he says afterwards in Quick interview. “My heart rate was as high as it was during the race. I am glad he finally succeeded. I had very bad luck with the crash on the Tour and illness at the beginning of the year. It makes me very happy and motivated for the rest of the season.”
Earlier in the afternoon, Marilyn Rosser managed to snatch the women’s title. The 30-year-old Swiss stayed ahead of Elaine van Dijk in an exciting duel, thus cementing her European title. When Bessiger was asked why Switzerland dominates the trial of time, he came up with an ingenious answer. “The Swiss are always on time and timing is everything on time.”
