Lucinda Brand (Baloise-Glowi Lions) was peerless over the steep climbs and banked sections in Namur to win the fourth round of this season's UCI World Cup.
Brand took the lead towards the end of the first lap and never looked troubled, beating World Cup leader Aniek van Alphen (Seven Racing) by 43 seconds. After taking a very early lead on the opening lap, France's Amandine Fouquenet (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) claimed an impressive third place exactly one-minute behind Brand.
Making her season debut in cyclocross, Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) faded after a strong opening third of the race to finish in fourth place, 1:21 down on Brand.
Brand has won all three of the UCI World Cup races she has competed in this season, with Van Alphen taking the second round in Flamenville. Brand is now one point behind her compatriot in the overall standings.
"I was really strong. I just never have such a good start," Brand remarked after the finish, commenting on Fouquenet's early burst of speed.
"She always has an amazing start," Brand continued, "and I try to just keep my own pace because definitely the first lap here you can blow up yourself."
"I just had good legs," she added.
Brand had to keep a cool head on the third lap when she suffered a front-wheel puncture. However, she appeared to be on another level to her competitors in Namur, so it didn't cause too much of a dent in her ambitions to win.
"It was super stupid, but you know what can happen here. I just kept trying to ride, and if the wheel breaks, it breaks, we get a new one...I had enough of a gap. It was good."
How it unfolded
Namur is always one of the more feared and revered of course in cyclocross, with its relentless climbing, technical descents and banked straights giving problems to even the most seasoned riders. In the end, it was to be a show of class from the rider who has dominated the cyclocross season so far.
Yesterday’s winner in Kortrijk, Inge van der Heijden (Crelan Corendon), was fastest out the blocks but was quickly passed by Fouquenet who rocketed up the brutal climb which kicked off the lap. Célia Gery was in hot pursuit to make a French 1-2 in the opening sections.
Alert to the danger, Brand surged to the front of the race before the end of the first lap and stretched into a lead with Fouquenet and a chasing group including Pieterse, Van Alphen and Van der Heijden behind.
By the third lap, Brand had expanded her lead, pursued by Pieterse who appeared to be tiring on the third time round the course. Van Alphen moved past the Dutch champion into second place with a deficit of 28 seconds to Brand.
Mid-way through the fourth, Brand suffered a puncture with a few hundred metres to go to the pits when she could swap her Trek for a fresh one. Brand only lost around 10 seconds, holding a gap of 19 seconds to Van Alphen heading into a technical descent before yet another cobbled climb.
The climbing is relentless in Namur, it usually comes down to which rider has the most stamina over the 50 minutes of racing. Brand is known for her strength, and looked to be powering through the toughest parts. Behind, Pieterse was paying for early efforts as Fouqenet came past into third place.
Heading into the penultimate lap of seven, Brand had re-established a healthy lead up to more than 30 seconds over Van Alphen and looked peerless over this iconic cyclocross course. She would extend that on the final lap to take yet another resounding victory.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
