Lucinda Brand is on an incredible run of form
Lucinda Brand rode away from an elite group midway through Sunday’s Round 1 World Cup race in Tabor, Czech Republic, en route to a 24-second victory over world champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado.
It was Brand’s second win in as many days. On Saturday, she also won at X²O Trophy Kortrijk in a sprint over a similar field. Brand has now stood atop the podium in four of her last five races, and hasn’t missed a podium since Dec. 27, 2019. There may not be another rider anywhere in the cycling world on a better run of form.
How Lucinda won in Tabor
During the third of six laps, Brand bolted away from a group that contained Alvarado (1st in UCI’s women’s elite rankings), Annemarie Worst (2nd), Denise Betsema (22nd), Puck Pieterse (25th) and Blanka Vas (41st). Only Alvarado was able to regain Brand’s wheel, but by the start of the fourth lap, Brand had distanced the defending world champion, and would ride the last 26 minutes of the race all alone at the front.
Similar to her Superprestige series win in Merksplas on Nov. 22, Brand rode aggressively to put her competitors in early pain. The move was doubly effective because many of those same riders raced against her in Kortrijk the day before, including Betsema, who finished second, and Alvarado, who finished fourth after a late crash.
Betsema notably couldn’t keep up with Brand on Sunday after digging deep on a solo move of her own on Saturday’s sixth and final lap. In Kortrijk, Brand negotiated her way back to Betsema’s wheel, then sprinted past her on a paved, uphill finish to get her first win of the weekend.
Then in Tabor, no one had the legs to keep up.
Brand now leads the World Cup standings with 40 points ahead of Alvarado (30 points) and Betsema (25). There will be four more World Cup rounds, the next taking place on Dec. 20 in Namur, Belgium.
Toon Aerts finishes fourth
Toon Aerts finished just off the podium in Tabor, six seconds behind Wout van Aert and 18 seconds away from winner Michael Vanthourenhout. Aerts rode in the lead group until Vanthourenhout went solo on the fifth of eight laps. He was joined on the sixth lap by teammate Eli Iserbyt, forcing Aerts to chase alongside Van Aert at a roughly 14-second gap.
Unfortunately for Aerts, a slip in the mud on the final lap took him out of podium contention. Van Aert would continue the chase, but settled for third place at 12 seconds back from the winner. Iserbyt took second place at five seconds back.
Shirin van Anrooij undergoes surgery after scary accident
Shirin van Anrooij, one of Telenet Baloise’s brightest young talents, underwent surgery Sunday evening to repair a fracture and deep gash in her forearm sustained during a pile-up crash in Tabor.
Telenet Baloise has yet to announce a timetable for the 18-year-old’s return. Trek wishes her all the best in her recovery.