Lucinda Brand continued her stunning run of form on Sunday, taking an eighth consecutive race win at the sixth round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup at Koksijde on Sunday.
The Baloise-Glowi Lions rider hit the front of the race on the opening lap, before grinding the fight out of her competitors, and riding alone from the second of the five sandy laps on the Belgian coast.
Teammate Shirin van Anrooij managed to hang on the longest, the Dutchwoman eventually finishing second, some 36 seconds behind the winner. Behind them, there was a breathless battle for third place, with Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck) sprinting to round out the podium,
Brand is currently without equal on the cyclocross field. This win marked her 80th professional cyclocross victory and her 12th from 14 starts this season. It was also the first time she has won at Koksijde, after finishing second on three occasions. She also extended her number of successive podium finishes to a record 55 and her lead in the World Cup overall standings, with Aniek van Alphen (Seven Racing), who finished fourth on the day, now second overall, 32 points back.
After winning Saturday's race in Antwerp, Brand was suitably pleased.
"It's one of my goals of the season so I'm really happy that I could win the race here," she said. "It's an iconic race, I really love the races where it's just the circumstances of the ground that make the race and this is one of them, it like we say in road races, a Monument, so it's great if you are on the list of winners there."
How it unfolded
After Saturday's race in Antwerp, the first double World Cup weekend of the cyclocross season continued with the Duinencross in the sand of Koksijde on the Belgian coast. After Saturday's fifth round, the course had undergone some changes from recent editions, the race returning to Koksijde's more traditional circuit with more sand sections to tackle.
Aniek van Alphen (Seven Racing) was best off the line, hitting the mud before anyone else, however, the rider of the moment and Saturday's winner, Lucinda Brand (Baloise-Glowi Lions) was also fast away, and the two were soon clear as the first of five laps of the 3.65km course progressed.
Brand seemed able to ride in places where others were forced off the bike, each time eking out a tiny advantage at the front, though Van Alphen battled gamely to hold her compatriot's wheel. The pair eventually closed the first circuit together, 14 seconds ahead of Brand's teammate, Shirin van Anrooij, alone in third place.
Van Anrooij was flying and was soon with the two leaders, though not for long, Brand putting the squeeze on, gapping both, with only Van Anrooij able to stay anywhere near. The third lap began with Brand eight seconds ahead of her teammate, Van Alphen, a further 20 seconds down.
A lap later, the race was won, if it wasn't before, Van Anrooij more than 20 seconds back and Van Alphen defending her third place, almost a minute behind the leader. Indeed, she was unable to hold on and was overtaken by Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), who established a decent advantage. However, as the final lap dawned, Pieterse was caught by Van Alphen and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck), creating a brilliant final lap battle for the podium.
Pieterse seemed safe in second place, but the other two battled hard, catching her late on. The three women entered the finishing straight close together, but Pieterse was out of energy and unable to contest the sprint.
Results
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