Although she had to acknowledge her defeat to Lucinda Brand, Shirin van Anrooij stood beaming broadly before the press after the Duinencross in Koksijde. The Baloise Glowi Lions rider is above all very happy with her performance and second place.
"I am very satisfied with this second place. I was quite well positioned at the start. Then a gap opened up, but I was able to close it again. Lucinda was, however, much too strong on all the sections in between," she said afterwards to Sporza.
"She was simply the best today, but I am steadily growing towards my best form. The Christmas period is still a long way off and my peak condition is there," Van Anrooij looks ahead to the upcoming cyclocross races with great motivation.
photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Admiration for Brand
The 23-year-old Dutch rider impressed in the sand of Koksijde but clearly had to concede to Brand. How does she view her teammate and compatriot? "With a lot of admiration. What she is showing this season is truly exceptional, especially considering her personal situation," Van Anrooij refers to the passing of Brand’s mother.
"If you see how she handled it in Sardinia (before the Terralba World Cup, ed.) and even now, that is really impressive. It’s remarkable how she can perform week after week like this. I think this is her 54th consecutive podium. That only shows how much class she has."
UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup - Koksijde| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48:08 | |
| 2 | + 36 | |
| 3 | + 01:03 | |
| 4 | + 01:07 | |
| 5 | + 01:11 | |
| 6 | + 02:13 | |
| 7 | + 02:16 | |
| 8 | + 02:25 | |
| 9 | + 02:26 | |
| 10 | + 02:37 |
