Lucinda Brand, at 36, just capped one of the most dominant cyclocross seasons of her career with the rainbow stripes
Lucinda Brand didn’t need a second World Championship to prove she was a legend. She has won 87 career cyclocross races, among them six European championships, 14 Dutch championships, and the 2021 world title. This season, at 36 years old, she had the second-winningest season of her career with 19 wins in 24 starts — a win roughly 80 percent of the time she lined up. She achieved a remarkable streak of 63 straight podiums across more than two full calendar years.
She didn’t need a second World Championship … but then, she wouldn’t be Lucinda Brand by resting on her laurels. Brand rode a brave race on a slippery, technical course and outlasted her Dutch compatriots to win the rainbow stripes by 27 seconds in Hulst. And with that, added more cement to her monument in cycling history.
“I had a really good season already, but a World Championships on home soil — it was already a race I was looking forward to, but throughout the season my ride was going so well, so of course it became a bigger goal,” Brand said.
Lucinda fending off the competition in front of a roaring home crowd.
Brand has a bittersweet relationship with the biggest race of the year. She has finished runner-up four times at World Championships, including in three of the previous four editions. But if she was feeling any nerves, they didn’t show. Instead, she rode a patient front half of the race and let her rivals make mistakes.
Puck Pieterse, the 2024 XC mountain bike World Champion, was the race’s biggest aggressor early, grabbing the hole shot and pushing the pace off the front heading into Lap 3. She pushed too hard on a steep descent into a turn along the water, however, tumbling as the ground flattened, and losing her grip on the lead for good.
Pure joy.
All the while, Brand remained within striking distance, and quickly took advantage by going to the front. Only fellow countrymate Ceylin Carmen del Alvarado was a game challenger, and even then the Dutch national champion struggled to remain in sight of Brand’s wheel. But then Brand made a mistake on Lap 4, tumbling after misnavigating a tight uphill switchback that allowed Alvarado to latch on despite Brand’s quick recovery.
But Brand was simply stronger. By the start of Lap 6 — the final lap — she had an 11-second lead over Alvarado after posting the fastest lap of any rider during the race. She only pushed that gap to the finish line, even after slowing down to bask in the inevitable and hype up the crowd.
“I just felt really good, really calm. It was, I think, almost a perfect race,” Brand said. “There was a little crash [laugh]. That made the race really exciting, I think.”
Lucinda back in stripes.
With that, Brand completed one of the best cyclocross seasons of her career. In addition to a World Championship, she won her fourth World Cup overall title. At one point, she won 13 straight races, beginning in November and extending through New Year’s Day. That she just missed out on Dutch and European titles felt like an injustice for what had otherwise been the most dominant season by any rider.
With the rainbow stripes, there’s no doubt. Brand cannot be touched.
“I’m just super happy and proud, and also for everybody who helped with the jersey, of course,” Brand said. “I will wear it with pride.”
