Lucinda Brand takes silver in an all-time World Championship battle

Lucinda Brand took second place at World Championships in Liévin, France, on Saturday in a thrilling back-and-forth, push-and-give, blow-for-blow battle with Dutch compatriot Fem van Empel. 

With the silver medal, Brand has now stood on the World Championships podium eight years in a row, a streak that includes the rainbow jersey in 2021. She has also now stood on 36 straight podiums in a mind-blowing show of consistency, especially for a 35-year-old rider who has been beating back hordes of exciting up-and-comers for years. The result caps a brilliant season that included the third World Cup overall title of her legendary career.

Still, despite all her accomplishments, Brand will likely remember Saturday as bittersweet. By midway through the six-lap race, she and Van Empel had sloughed off Puck Pieterse from what had been a lead trio, and established themselves as the only two riders with a chance to win. Throughout the race, they each thrived in distinct sections of the course, with Van Empel rocketing up the steep uphill segments after the pits, and Brand gaining ground on the descents and longer flat sections. The race evolved into a battle of who would be able to make the most of their advantages on a classic course. 

For most of the final two laps, Brand seemed to have Van Empel on the back foot. She took a fresh bike on Lap 5 while Van Empel bypassed the pits, and was able to quickly close the gap and take a four-second advantage heading into the final lap. Once again, Van Empel was able to get back on Brand’s wheel using her climbing prowess, but Brand had been the stronger rider on the back half of the course throughout the race, and a neck-and-neck fight would seemingly favor the veteran as the finish line approached.

But Van Empel put Brand on her wheel on those technical ascents, and was able to keep her there. Brand thought she had an opening to pass the young rider after a late descent, but Van Empel closed the door at the barrier and kept Brand in chase position. Then as the two riders approached the tarmac for a potential closing sprint, Brand made a small mistake, stalling on one last small bump while Van Empel cruised over, creating an insurmountable gap with so little real estate left in the race.

Such are the differences between winning and not in a fickle sport, but there’s no denying that Brand gave a championship-worthy effort. As one of the best cyclists in the world, settling for second may sting, but the result only strengthens the legend of an incredible career, with even more ambitious goals forthcoming on the road with Lidl-Trek. 

Nobody works or fights harder than Lucinda. Her story is far from done.