How Lucinda Brand won the World Cup overall, and why that's a great sign for World Championships
Over the weekend, Lucinda Brand won the World Cup finale in Hoogerheide, finished with her 34th and 35th consecutive podiums, and won the World Cup overall crown for the third time in her career.
To say she’s entering World Championships this weekend in Liévin, France, on a hot streak would be an understatement. And even more impressive is that she’s putting together one of the best seasons of her career at 35 years old. The rest of the Top 10 in Hoogerheide was 26 years old or younger. The closest competitor in their 30s was Denise Betsema at 32 years old, finishing 12th. Brand, the third oldest rider in the race, won the whole damn thing.
The secret to Brand’s success is an uncommon drive to keep improving her bike handling. She may not be a “faster” rider than her younger self, whose engine was the awe of the women’s field. But her consistency across the last two seasons are a testament to how rarely she makes technical mistakes, and how smart she’s been against increasingly competitive opposition.
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That's 35 straight podiums for Lucinda.
“Right now, more riders are racing on this very, very high level, which makes it way harder,” Brand said. “So in that way, I think this season is stronger. I think I’m a better rider. Maybe not physically better, but a more complete cyclocross rider. All the other skills you need are getting better and better, and that’s how I’ve ended up doing such a great season, I think.”
The former World Champion is among the favorites to win in Liévin, but the competition is arguably much tougher than it was during the 2020-21 season, when Brand won 12 races on her way to the rainbow stripes. Several of her Dutch compatriots also have claims to the title. Fem van Empel is the two-time reigning champ. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado won in 2020 and is having a resurgent season. And riders like Blanka Vas and Puck Pieterse can beat anyone on their best days.
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Lucinda Brand is still one of the most powerful riders in the field, but now she's savvier than ever.
Brand is leading the way for the Baloise-Glowi Lions in France. On the men’s side, Thibau Nys, Lars van der Haar and Pim Ronhaar are all podium contenders with hopes for more. Nys enters Liévin with the most momentum of the three, having won a Belgian national championship and a World Cup within the last three weeks. But all three riders have complementary skills, making a big result all the more likely from at least one of them (if not the complete trio).
The course in Liévin is classically ‘cross, especially with rainy, cold weather in the forecast all this week. Long straightaways lead into tight 180-degree turns, with malleable terrain likely sucking on riders’ wheels the entire time. It’s a good course for a powerhouse, and a rider like Brand fits the bill.
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Lucinda is charging hard into World Champs weekend.
Will it be her day? That’s up to her legs and fate. But there’s no shortage of motivation. Brand will be racing her ninth elite World Championship, but the waves of emotion she’s been experiencing ahead of the biggest cyclocross race of the year aren’t much different than when she was first taking the start line.
“When I raced World Championships as a younger rider, of course it was a different experience. You don’t always know what’s coming, what you can expect,” Brand said. “But now it’s more like a healthy way of excitement and nerves towards the race. And luckily I am experiencing it, because otherwise I think it should be time to quit [laughs]
“I also know when I’m getting a bit nervous, I can do a good race. So this is really good.”