Lucinda Brand Dominates to Win 2026 Cyclo-cross World Title in Hulst
Lucinda Brand has claimed the women's cyclocross world title. After nearly fifty minutes of racing, the Dutch rider decided the duel with Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado in her favor. Puck Pieterse took the bronze, securing an all-Dutch podium once again at the Cyclocross World Championships.
Over the past three years, the women's world championship podium has been an entirely Dutch affair. Expectations were high that the same would happen in 2026 in Hulst, with Pieterse, Alvarado, and Brand having dominated throughout the season.
There was also some attention given to Amandine Fouquenet, but the French rider had a disastrous start and had to start chasing from behind, while the Dutch trio immediately managed to open a gap on Blanka Kata Vas. The Hungarian rider soon dropped off the pace as well.
By the second lap, it was clear that one of the three would take the world title, but who? All three riders impressed on different sections of the Hulst course, so the outcome was still uncertain.
After about twenty minutes of racing, Brand launched a decisive attack, breaking away from Alvarado and Pieterse, who even crashed as a result. Brand passed halfway with a few seconds' lead over Alvarado, while Pieterse was caught by the group contesting third place and gradually lost sight of the world title. This group also included Marion Norbert Riberolle, who realized after about thirty minutes that she would not take bronze. The Belgian champion was disqualified following a heavy shove of Kristyna Zemanova.
Brand decides the world title duel in her favor
Approaching the finale, Alvarado got back on Brand’s wheel, setting up a showdown for the world title. Or was it really a duel? Gradually it became clear that Brand was the stronger of the two.
In the penultimate lap, Brand rode away, and after a few challenging weeks, she was on course to claim the world championship. Alvarado mainly tried to limit her time gap but couldn’t close in. She ultimately had to settle for silver. And Pieterse? She managed to secure the bronze medal.
