"It was the coldest race of my life. At times I thought I was going to die." Marlen Reusser said in a wave of shivering after winning his first big spring classic in Ghent-Wevelgem, while waiting behind the staging area for the podium ceremony with Megan Yastrub in second place and Myke van der Duyn in third.

Reusser seemed to be at a disadvantage from the start. In a sprinter-friendly race like Ghent-Wevelgem, SD Volks was one of the strongest teams and had a lot on the cards, but even Reusser expected it to be a sprint this year.

"In previous years, the goal was to not sprint, but that was impossible in this race because it's hard to get away and stay away," Reusser said.

"This year, I didn't expect a sprint to happen. I thought I could sprint with Lorena (Wiebes). Parkour is not my favorite race. But this year was different."

This year's race was held under inclement weather conditions, with rain falling throughout the 162.5 km race between Ypres and Wevelgem.

The rain made the cobblestone climbs slippery, and Reusser was forced to walk the first climb after an early crash before Baneberg. Several group crashes also decided the race for the peloton.

Fortunately, her SD Work teammates were able to get through most of the incidents unscathed, at least for most of the race, Reusser said. However, a crash occurred in the last 10 km when Reusser was off the front, and Lorena Vives, Lotte Kopecky, and Elena Cecchini crashed.

"Today was special. We were all freezing. It was really cold. And then there was a crash, a small selection [mid-race], and we were lucky to have the whole team at the front," Reusser said.

"I think that really changed the dynamics of the race. Also, if the teams weren't so strong or if we didn't have the numbers at the back, I don't think we would have been 45km apart. So thank you, SD Walks."

Reusser escaped on the second climb of the Baneberg, with about 45 km to go, after a group crash, while the team was still sorting things out.

The Swiss rider gradually picked up the pace, applied more pressure, and was surprised when he looked back and realized he had made the gap.

"I didn't attack. I thought about making a selection or a small group, but nobody was following my wheel, so I thought, 'Let's give it a shot. I was very surprised. I went a little bit faster, but the decision was made that they [rival teams] weren't going that fast. I kept the pace to see what would happen. I got my time right away, so I thought, 'I have five other cards to play, so I'll play first,' and I went."

"It wasn't a hard decision to continue. I'm good at time trials and sometimes I prefer to participate in time trials rather than making difficult decisions. I was happy when I heard over the radio that the team was supporting my actions."

"I was happy to hear that the team was supporting my actions.

The Swiss rider extended his lead to nearly 3 minutes, but with limited radio contact, he was unsure of his advantage. An error in a turn in the last 5km was her first concern, but in the end the mistake had little effect on her lead and she won the group sprint by 2:42.

"I have to look back at it myself. The race [course] was going a little to the right and I went straight down. So they could have shown me better and I could have been more careful because I went straight. I could hear everyone saying "no, no, no" as I turned, so I knew I was going the wrong way. Reuther said.

"I wasn't confident in my gap. The forces are different. I really didn't think it would happen because my legs are slow and I knew that if a rider sprinted behind me, I could pick up the pace. I'm not happy to lose extra seconds there (by making a wrong turn)."

Reusser said he only began to feel confident of his victory in Ghent-Wevelgem with 1km to go.

He admitted that he did not expect to win before the race, but had prepared his podium bag just in case. She said, "I didn't think I could win today, but I didn't think I wouldn't either."

.