Lucinda Brand (Baloise Glowi Lions) won the UCI World Cup Hoogerheide to celebrate her overall World Cup victory in style.
Brand was again strong and skilled in the thick mud as Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) and then world champion Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike) joined her but then crashed and faded.
Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) came through to finish 28 seconds down on Brand. Pieterse was third at 39 seconds.
Brand ended the 11-race World Cup series with a total of 350 points, beating Van Empel, who scored 276 points, and Vas scored 53 points. She has ridden 27 cyclocross races so far this winter and has always finished in the top three and has won eight of them.
Brand ended the 11-race World Cup series with a total of 350 points, beating Van Empel, who scored 276 points, and Vas scored 53 points.
Brand has ridden 27 cyclocross races so far this winter and has always finished in the top three and has won eight of them.
“It’s a great way to finish the World Cup,” Brand said.
“I felt okay on the first lap but it was not amazing. Then we Puck and I came together, I felt good and thought we’d continue together and we’d see how the race ended. Then she made a mistake and I knew I had to take my chance and keep pushing.”
Asked if she was feeling good for next weekend’s World Championships in France, Brand was succinct.
“Exactly. Yes.”
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
