Lucinda Brand claimed victory on Sunday in the Dendermonde World Cup. The leader in the World Cup standings managed to break away from Amandine Fouquenet on a lightning-fast course during the third lap and held off both the French rider and Dutch champion Puck Pieterse solo. This marks Brand’s eleventh (!) consecutive win in cyclocross.
Many fans will still remember the grueling scenes from the first edition in 2020 at Dendermonde, but it won’t ever get that tough again in Jurgen Mettepenningen’s race. In fact, due to the lack of rainfall in recent weeks and the recent frost, this year’s World Cup race resembled more a track meet. In other words, the cyclocrossers were set for a blazing-fast edition of Dendermonde.
In East Flanders, virtually all eyes were again on Lucinda Brand, who currently stands head and shoulders above the rest, with fourteen wins to her name. The World Cup leader faced strong compatriots such as Puck Pieterse and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado in Dendermonde, but there was an extra cyclocross ace joining the field: Zoe Bäckstedt returned to racing today after a long rehabilitation.
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2025 |  Lucinda Brand |
| 2023 | Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado |
| 2021 | Lucinda Brand |
| 2020 | Lucinda Brand |
French duo in the opening lap, Brand stays alert
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado completely missed her start, but managed to join the relatively large lead group that formed in the opening lap. The lead was dominated by two French riders; national champion Amandine Fouquenet and the young Célia Gery blasted ahead. Only Lucinda Brand could keep pace with this French force. Due to a crash by Leonie Bentveld in the sand and riders watching each other in the background, the gap quickly stretched to 15 seconds.
Fouquenet showed no sign of slowing and continued to ride with Brand and Gery on her wheel. Puck Pieterse and Ceylin Alvarado had to make a significant effort to bridge up to the lead group. They broke away from a chasing group including Inge van der Heijden, Aniek van Alphen, and Kristyna Zemanova. Brand received timely information that Pieterse was approaching, so she accelerated and escaped from Fouquenet, who was then joined by Pieterse.
photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Lucinda Brand’s solo bid, Puck Pieterse unable to close the gap
Had Brand launched a six-lap solo? After three laps, she held an 11-second lead over Fouquenet and Pieterse. Behind them, the gap to Gery and Alvarado was already over 20 seconds. Ultimately, it became a head-to-head battle in Dendermonde. Pieterse managed to ride away from Fouquenet, resulting in several small groups racing across East Flanders.
The World Cup leader’s pace was too high for Puck Pieterse. The gap grew from 11 seconds to nearly 20 seconds. Pieterse didn’t give up but was unable to get any closer. The bird had flown, and her name was once again Lucinda Brand; she was on course to score her eleventh consecutive (!) cyclocross victory. Since the Superprestige Niel, she has won every race she entered.
The battle for second place was the most exciting, as Fouquenet closed back in on Pieterse. They left it to the final lap in Dendermonde; with a strong attack on the stairs, Pieterse secured second place ahead of Fouquenet. Behind them, Alvarado held a firm fourth, while Marion Norbert Riberolle settled into fifth place.
UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup - Dendermonde| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51:06 | |
| 2 | + 11 | |
| 3 | + 23 | |
| 4 | + 35 | |
| 5 | + 47 | |
| 6 | + 58 | |
| 7 | + 01:03 | |
| 8 | + 01:09 | |
| 9 | + 01:14 | |
| 10 | + 01:28 |
| Rank | Rider | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucinda Brand | 280 | |
| 2 | Aniek van Alphen | 208 | |
| 3 |  Amandine Fouquenet | 158 | |
| 4 | Leonie Bentveld | 148 | |
| 5 | Shirin van Anrooij | 139 | |
| 6 | Inge van der Heijden | 135 | |
| 7 | Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado | 134 | |
| 8 | (2) | Puck Pieterse | 120 |
| 9 | Manon Bakker | 115 | |
| 10 | (2) | Denise Betsema | 114 |
