Lucinda Brand claimed her seventh victory of this cyclocross season at the X2O Trophy in Hamme. The leader of Baloise Glowi Lions controlled the race from start to finish, although she was constantly pressured throughout the race by European champion Inge van der Heijden. For Brand, this marks her fiftieth (!) consecutive podium in cyclocross; the last time she finished outside the top three was in January 2024.
It's a busy week for the men's and women's cyclocross racers. Following the much-discussed European Championships, the Jaarmarktcross in Niel, and the Aardbeiencross in Merksplas, the riders faced the Flandriencross in Hamme on Sunday. After her dominant performances in recent races, Lucinda Brand was impossible to overlook, especially with the absence of riders like Fem van Empel and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado.
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2025 |  Lucinda Brand |
| 2024 | Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado |
| 2024 | Fem van Empel |
| 2023 | Fem van Empel |
| 2022 | Lucinda Brand |
| 2021 | Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado |
| 2019 | Annemarie Worst |
| 2018 | Annemarie Worst |
| 2017 |  Sanne Cant |
| 2016 | Sanne Cant |
Brand with a blistering start
Lucinda Brand was immediately focused and took the lead into the field following a razor-sharp start. The Baloise Glowi Lions captain quickly opened up a solid gap and was able to choose her own lines on the always tricky and sometimes muddy course in Hamme. Van der Heijden sensed the threat and, as the European champion, attempted to bridge across. The two comeback riders – Marie Schreiber and Annemarie Worst – had to start from further behind.
Brand was not about to ease off or allow her rivals to catch up and kept pushing hard. She steadily increased her lead over Van der Heijden. After the opening lap, the gap between the two Dutch top riders had already stretched to eleven seconds. Van Alphen, who was in recovery mode after several mistakes, was already twenty seconds behind in third place.
photo: Cor Vos
Were we witnessing another one-woman show from Brand? It seemed that way, although Van der Heijden refused to be ridden over easily. In fact, the rider from Crelan-Corendon managed to chip away at the deficit. After two laps, Brand's lead was down to just five seconds. Behind them, Van Alphen and Schreiber were battling for third place.
Van der Heijden doesn’t close the gap on Brand
Midway through the race, Brand’s lead had grown back toward 12 seconds due to some mistakes from Van der Heijden. The Baloise Glowi Lions leader was clearly in great form, maintaining a gap of about 15 seconds over the European champion. Van der Heijden struggled to get closer and had to rely on a mishap from Brand.
Brand also took fewer risks, allowing Van der Heijden to edge a bit closer in the final lap, but it was enough for the experienced rider to secure the win in Hamme. Van der Heijden followed in second place, and the podium was completed by Aniek van Alphen, who had dropped Schreiber. The Luxembourg rider suffered mechanical issues on the last straight but managed to narrowly hold on to fourth place while running.
Photo: Fotopersbureau Cor Vos
Unique streak: 50 consecutive podiums
Besides Lucinda Brand’s seventh win of the season, it also marked a unique streak of 50 consecutive cyclocross podium finishes. The last time she missed the podium was at the 2024 World Cup race in Benidorm. Her streak began—ironically in Hamme—on January 27, 2024. Since then, Brand has not finished off the podium in any cyclocross race.
X²O Badkamers Trofee Flandriencross - Hamme| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42:35 | |
| 2 | + 09 | |
| 3 | + 22 | |
| 4 | + 01:05 | |
| 5 | + 01:09 | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | + 01:17 | |
| 8 | + 01:31 | |
| 9 | + 02:12 | |
| 10 | + 03:11 |
| Rank | Rider | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucinda Brand | 02:17:09 | |
| 2 | (1) | Inge van der Heijden | 02:21:24 |
| 3 | (3) | Aniek van Alphen | 02:23:33 |
| 4 | (2) |  Sara Casasola | 02:24:29 |
| 5 | (3) | Manon Bakker | 02:25:41 |
| 6 | (3) |  Hélène Clauzel | 02:27:01 |
| 7 | (5) | Denise Betsema | 02:27:16 |
| 8 | (7) | Julie Brouwers | 02:27:32 |
| 9 | (5) | Célia Gery | 02:28:13 |
| 10 | (5) | Marion Norbert Riberolle | 02:28:26 |
