After finishing just off the top spot in two consecutive cyclocross races, Lucinda Brand claimed victory again this Sunday. The dominant rider of this cyclocross season crossed the line solo at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Benidorm. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado took second place, with Amandine Fouquenet finishing third. Brand also secured the overall World Cup title.
Lucinda Brand had already claimed seventeen wins this winter, but she came up short in Zonhoven and at the Dutch National Championships, where Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado took both victories. The two women met again on the Costa Blanca, raising expectations for an exciting head-to-head battle among cyclocross fans. Could an outsider like Amandine Fouquenet, Aniek van Alphen, or Marie Schreiber pull off a surprise?
Fouquenet sets the pace, Brand responds
On the new sloping start straight, Fouquenet got off to the best start, but Brand also stayed near the front, along with Shirin van Anrooij. The latter quickly took the initiative, stretching the peloton into a long line. When Fouquenet then took the lead again, gaps really began to form. Dutch champion Alvarado found herself under pressure and passed the first lap as seventh, eight seconds behind.
Fouquenet leads the charge - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Meanwhile, Fouquenet remained in front. Brand sat on her wheel, while Célia Gery, Blanka Vas, Kristyna Zemanová, and Van Anrooij were also in the leading group. In the second of six laps, Brand launched two strong attacks. The Baloise Insurance-Het Poetsbureau Lions rider brought some fragmentation, but by the start of the third lap, seven riders were still together. Alvarado had also reconnected.
Brand goes solo
Both Alvarado and Brand rode cautiously in the following lap, sitting together at the back. However, in the fourth lap things changed again as Brand surged forward to push hard once more. Only Fouquenet and Gery could keep up—for a short while. By the lap’s end, Brand dropped the two French riders.
Fouquenet and Gery were joined at the line by Alvarado, who now had to lay her cards on the table. The Fenix-Premier Tech rider had twelve seconds to make up if she wanted to catch Brand. She managed to chip away a few seconds from her deficit, but the gap began widening again afterwards. Near the end of the penultimate lap, Alvarado hit a rough patch and had to let Fouquenet and Gery get away momentarily.
Brand’s double triumph
Brand’s eighteenth win of the season was never really in jeopardy. She crossed the line as the clear winner by a large margin, securing the overall World Cup victory as well. She is now uncatchable by Aniek van Alphen, who did not factor into the race today.
In the battle for second place, Alvarado recovered strongly. The Fenix-Premier Tech rider left Fouquenet and Gery behind again, emerging as the best of the rest. In the sprint for the final podium spot, Fouquenet narrowly beat her compatriot Gery.
UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup - Benidorm| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 52:01 | |
| 2 | + 10 | |
| 3 | + 12 | |
| 4 | " | |
| 5 | + 52 | |
| 6 | + 59 | |
| 7 | + 01:08 | |
| 8 | + 01:14 | |
| 9 | + 01:25 | |
| 10 | + 01:27 |
| Rank | Rider | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lucinda Brand | 350 | |
| 2 | Aniek van Alphen | 240 | |
| 3 |  Amandine Fouquenet | 205 | |
| 4 | Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado | 204 | |
| 5 | (1) | Shirin van Anrooij | 180 |
| 5 | Leonie Bentveld | 180 | |
| 7 | Puck Pieterse | 145 | |
| 8 | Inge van der Heijden | 142 | |
| 9 | Manon Bakker | 135 | |
| 9 | (1) | Denise Betsema | 135 |
