Lucinda Brand capitalized on her superb early season form to win the opening round of the cyclocross World Cup Sunday, sprinting to victory in Tábor in the Czech Republic.
The Baloise Glowi Lyons rider spent much of the five lap race scrapping with Sara Casasola and her teammate, European champion Inge Van der Heijden (both Crelan-Corendon).
Van der Heijden appeared uneasy on the many technical sections of the fast, frozen circuit but fought back several times. However she was distanced for good on the last lap, with Brand putting in a determined surge inside the final minute to gap Casasola before the sprint.
She then thundered in for what is her eight win out of ten starts this season and, incredibly, her 51st podium finish in a row.
“It was difficult to make a difference. There was a lot of sliding,” the Dutchwoman said. “I think we were a bit the same strength uphill, so it was hard to get rid of each other. Then you get that kind of tactical race.”
Casasola was racing very strongly and looked like a possible winner right up until the final seconds. However she had a slight mishap and with things right on the edge there, she couldn’t recover.
“I was hoping to fight more for it, but I slipped just before the pit. So I lost a few meters and then I had to chase back,” the Italian said. “Lucinda is already really fast so I couldn’t even close the gap.
“But I am really happy with my second spot. It is actually my first World Cup podium so I am really, really happy.”
A display of concentration and strength
Brand rode in a determined manner all through, recovering well after a relatively slow start. Luxembourg champion Marie Schrieber (SD Worx-Protime) stretched things out early on before fading, with Brand fighting her way back up and ending lap one as part of a group of five.
Casasola was nine second back there but rejoined the leaders on lap two. From then on she, Brand and Van der Heijden tussled for the lead, although the latter revealed after the race that she has slipped slightly early on and lost her confidence as a result.
Brand admitted being worried about Casasola in the finale, but applied pressure at just the right time.
“I heard that I had a little gap and then of course when you take the first corner you look back and you can see,” she said.
“That was really good because going with Sara on your wheel to the finish line can be a different result.”
Brand won the World Cup overall last season and has started things off perfectly this time around. She will wear the leader’s jersey in round two next Sunday in Flamanville, France.
The brilliant but somewhat inconsistent world champion Fem van Empel missed the opening round, due to a lack of form. Former rainbow jersey wearer Ceylin Alvarado was also absent because of a recent knee injury.
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