Lucinda Brand won her first two cyclocross races of the season, but in the Superprestige race in Overijse, she had to acknowledge Sara Casasola as the superior rider. The Dutch rider had been in sight of victory for a long time, but a crash in the penultimate lap proved fatal for her chances of winning.
What exactly happened in that second-to-last lap? "I was riding too close to a post, because my handlebars unexpectedly hit the pole and then you go over the bars," she reflected after the race with WielerFlits on this decisive moment in the race. "I did hurt myself, but that’s always the case when you crash."
Brand hit the ground at high speed, got back on the bike lightning fast, but at the start of the final lap she faced a deficit of about ten seconds behind her rival Sara Casasola. Did she still believe in victory at that point?
"We were both already pretty exhausted. Then you have to keep going for half a lap on a bike with crooked handlebars, and you’re not sure if something is wrong with the frame. At that moment, it was mostly about survival towards the finish line and securing second place."
photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Not an ideal lead-up
Brand was frustrated after the race but quickly put things into perspective. "Of course you always want to go for the win, but I already knew this morning that it wasn’t going to be easy. I haven’t had a great week. I was a bit under the weather, so I can already be proud that I’m competing for the victory here."
"Plus, Sara has shown in recent weeks that she’s currently riding at a very high level. Of course, it’s disappointing when you can’t fight back in the final lap, but I definitely didn’t just give up."
Telenet Superprestige Overijse| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45:53 | |
| 2 | + 28 | |
| 3 | + 37 | |
| 4 | + 01:39 | |
| 5 | + 01:53 | |
| 6 | + 02:14 | |
| 7 | + 02:21 | |
| 8 | + 02:43 | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | + 02:51 |
