Lucinda Brand claimed victory in the Aardbeiencross Merksplas, the fourth round of the Superprestige series. The Baloise Glowi Lions rider broke away from the competition halfway through the race and soloed to the win. Thanks to her second-place finish, Aniek van Alphen closed the gap in the Superprestige standings to just one point behind Inge van der Heijden, who took third in Merksplas.
Lucinda Brand was the top favorite for the Aardbeiencross in Merksplas, with Inge van der Heijden and Aniek van Alphen as her main challengers. The best start in the fourth round of the Superprestige went to Leonie Bentveld and Amandine Fouquenet. Together with Van der Heijden, they quickly opened a gap in the opening minutes. After one lap, Brand and Van Alphen trailed by just a few seconds.
Brand goes solo
In the second of six laps, the two soon bridged up, but Van der Heijden kept pressing hard. Fouquenet and Van Alphen dropped back, although Van Alphen managed to return to the group. Meanwhile, Bentveld took over the initiative. Shortly after, Van Alphen launched an attack, but the four came back together through the sandpit. On exiting, Brand had a bit more speed than the others and tried to take advantage, pushing on herself.
By the end of lap three, Brand had a three-second lead over the chasing group. Van der Heijden led the pursuit and tried to close the gap but was unsuccessful. In the fifth lap, the European champion slipped back to fourth following a crash, trailing Bentveld and Van Alphen. The latter now had a chance to take the lead from Van der Heijden in the Superprestige standings, which before the race was separated by two points.
photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Brand’s sixth win of the season, 49th consecutive podium
At the end of lap five, Van der Heijden pulled away from Bentveld, securing her position in the lead standings. Moreover, she closed in on Van Alphen in the final lap, but ultimately could not overtake the Seven Racing rider. Van Alphen finished second, Van der Heijden third, Bentveld fourth — all at a respectable distance from Brand, who claimed her sixth victory of the season.
Brand also extended her impressive podium streak. She now stands at 49 consecutive cyclocross podiums. If she manages to reach the podium again this Sunday (Hamme), she will extend her remarkable streak to fifty (!) consecutive races finishing in the top three.
Telenet Superprestige Merksplas| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45:20 | |
| 2 | + 10 | |
| 3 | + 13 | |
| 4 | + 14 | |
| 5 | + 01:38 | |
| 6 | + 01:47 | |
| 7 | + 02:04 | |
| 8 | + 02:14 | |
| 9 | + 02:20 | |
| 10 | + 02:44 |
| Rank | Rider | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Aniek van Alphen | 83 | |
| 2 | (1) |  Amandine Fouquenet | 76 |
| 3 | (1) | Inge van der Heijden | 62 |
| 4 | (1) | Hélène Clauzel | 51 |
| 5 | (2) | Marion Norbert Riberolle | 50 |
| 6 | (2) | Lucinda Brand | 44 |
| 7 | (1) | Julie Brouwers | 39 |
| 8 |  Kata Blanka Vas | 29 | |
| 8 |  Sara Casasola | 29 | |
| 10 | Denise Betsema | 27 |
