A hard crash hampered Maghalie Rochette’s chances of finishing higher than 12th in Sunday’s sixth round of the 2023-2024 UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Flamanville, France. Lucinda Brand fine comeback season continued as she won her second consecutive World Cup, moving up to second in the overall standings. Sidney McGill enjoyed her best World Cup result in Europe this season with 16th.
The Situation Before Sunday
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado was sick over the weekend, but she was unlikely to lose her series lead, as she did in the Superprestige on Saturday. Alvarado led the also-absent Zoe Backstedt by 63 points, with Lucinda Brand seven points behind the Brit. After her seventh place in Dublin, Maghalie Rochette sat ninth in the standings.
Leonie Bentveld took the hole shot on Lap 1. Rochette started on the first row and was fourth early. Brand got swamped. Luxembourg champion Marie Schreiber took over the lead. Rochette was fifth or sixth in the string, Brand having made her way past the Canadian. Schreiber and Denise Betsema forced a little gap. Rochette jumped the planks where others ran; she was fourth after the first circuit. Sidney McGill was 13th.
As Schreiber continued at the front on Lap 2 of 5, Annemarie Worst slid past Rochette. Brand was the closest to Schreiber and seized the reins. In fifth, Rochette had to worry about Bentveld and Manon Bakker behind her. The rest of the field had been distanced by the sextet up front. Brand’s charge gave her a 14-second gap. Rochette sifted down to seventh. McGill was 17th.
Worst, Betsema and Bentveld were scrapping for the podium on Lap 3. Rochette worked to overtake Bakker. Schreiber couldn’t make any inroads into Brand’s lead, but she was keeping Bentveld and Betsema at bay. Rochette crashed and was in danger of being overtaken by Sanne Cant and others.
On the penultimate lap Schreiber had Bentveld for company. Brand increased her lead to half a minute. Rochette fell from seventh to 11th over the course of the circuit. McGill was up to 16th.
The bell lap was where Schreiber distanced Bentveld for good. Rochette’s 12th place translated into her holding 9th place in the World Cup overall standings.
The next round is next Sunday in Val di Sole, Italy.
2023-2024 UCI Cyclocross World Cup, Round 6, Flamanville
1) Lucinda Brand (The Netherlands/Baloise Trek…
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