Lucinda Brand Dominates World Cup Namur, Puck Pieterse Misses Podium

Amandine Fouquenet took the early lead at the Citadel, immediately opening a gap in her French champion jersey. Puck Pieterse had a tough start, struggling to gain positions on the dry course at Namur during her comeback. It was Lucinda Brand who started chasing Fouquenet down, catching her after the iconic ‘schuine kant’.

Lucinda Brand seizes her chance, Puck Pieterse gradually finds rhythm
Brand pushed ahead and opened a gap on Fouquenet, as well as on Aniek van Alphen, mountain biker Jolanda Neff, Inge van der Heijden, Puck Pieterse, and Leonie Bentveld behind her.

In the second lap, Pieterse began to find some pace. Together with Neff and World Cup leader Van Alphen, she closed in on Fouquenet, who had already lost sight of Brand. On the ‘schuine kant’, Pieterse passed the Frenchwoman, allowing the Dutch champion to start her chase on Brand. Behind them, the gaps widened.

Pieterse got within about ten seconds of Brand briefly, but by lap three the Baloise Glowii Lions leader extended her lead to around 25 seconds. On the ‘schuine kant’, Brand soared downhill while the others struggled on the slope. Pieterse was caught by a strong Van Alphen. At that stage, Jolanda Neff lost contact in the fight for the podium places. Van der Heijden and Fouquenet also seemed to find the pace too high.

Puncture doesn’t stop Brand
Brand looked untouchable, but a puncture in the fourth of seven laps halved her lead of more than 30 seconds. Van Alphen closed the gap to 12 seconds. Behind them, Pieterse seemed to struggle a bit, following 21 seconds back, closely trailed by Fouquenet and Van der Heijden. The chasers’ hopes were quickly dashed as Brand immediately opened up several seconds again after a bike change.

Brand’s advantage again grew to over 30 seconds ahead of Van Alphen, who appeared set to secure her podium place. Behind them, Pieterse and Fouquenet battled for the final podium spot at the Citadel in Namur. Pieterse’s tank ran empty in the last two laps, and in her comeback, she had to concede third place to a surprising Fouquenet. Fifth place went to Neff, who was happy with the result and finished ahead of Van der Heijden.

Although Brand took the win, it wasn’t enough to take the lead in the World Cup standings. Thanks to her strong second place, Van Alphen retained her top spot, though Brand is now closing the gap.