Lucinda Brand won the World Cup cyclocross in Antwerp by the skin of her teeth. After an exhilarating race that remained thrilling until the very end, the Dordrecht cyclocross rider from Baloise Glowi Lions beat Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado. Aniek van Alphen finished in third place.
The cyclocross world was shaken this week by the retirement of Fem van Empel. The three-time world champion was the only rider who had consistently challenged Lucinda Brand in recent years. There were fears the races would become less exciting. However, on Saturday, a strong field lined up in Antwerp, including Brand, Shirin van Anrooij, Puck Pieterse, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Inge van der Heijden, and Aniek van Alphen.
Right after the starting gun fired, Van Alphen succeeded in putting the rest of the field under pressure and gained seconds on her rivals. Van der Heijden caught up within the first lap, while Brand was still staying in the background. Pieterse also had a rough start – she had to claw her way up from 22nd position.
By the second lap, all the top cyclocross riders had come together, forming a lead group including Van Anrooij, Van Alphen, Pieterse, Brand, Alvarado, Amandine Fouquenet, and the surprise Krystyna Zemanova. The seven appeared evenly matched, as the race situation changed every two minutes. Sometimes it was Alvarado making the move, other times Van Alphen, and just before halfway, Pieterse showed strong moments in the sand.
Thrilling until the end
In the fourth lap, Pieterse, Brand, and Alvarado broke away from the rest. Was this the podium? It seemed so, until Pieterse had to let Alvarado and Brand go after a strong sandy section. The duo at the front appeared set to battle for the win – until a new plot twist occurred. On one of the sand sections, Van Anrooij managed to reduce the gap between Brand and Alvarado to a mere three seconds, making everything open again going into the penultimate lap.
In the sand, Alvarado and Brand proved to be the strongest, allowing them to break away again in the final ten minutes of the race. Brand eventually took control in the absolute final phase, extending her winning streak even as the official start of the festive season began.
UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup - Antwerpen| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 53:48 | |
| 2 | + 02 | |
| 3 | + 16 | |
| 4 | + 23 | |
| 5 | + 24 | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | + 30 | |
| 8 | + 01:01 | |
| 9 | + 01:13 | |
| 10 | + 01:25 |
