Lucinda Brand’s win in Sunday’s penultimate round of the 2024-2025 X2O Badkamers Trofee in Lille, Belgium was really a victory lap, as her series lead was unassailable going into the race. Brand has now won the World Cup, Superprestige and X2O Badkamers Trofee Triple Crown three times: 2020-2021, 2021-2022 and 2024-2025. The 35-year-old Dutch rider didn’t finish off the podium in 20 races this season.
Preliminaries
She might have only won one out of six rounds going into Sunday, but Brand was nearly ten minutes clear of three-round victor Fem van Empel at the top of the classification. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Puck Pieterse also chalked up wins. Of the four, only Brand was competing.
Annemarie Worst came back from a broken hand this season, and on Lap 1 she led with Belgian champion Marion Norbert Riberolle, Brand stalking the duo in the forest. Worst, twice finishing third overall in the X2O Badkamers Trofee, dropped Cant before the line. Brand continued to chase with a bunch that contained four Crelan-Corendon cyclists, including Sanne Cant and Inge van der Heijden.
Worst continued her solo raid on Lap 2, where Riberolle, Manon Bakker and Saturday’s Superpresige victor van der Heijden moved clear of Brand and Cant.
Worst biffed in the sand on Lap 3 of 5, allowing all five on her chasers to catch up.
Van der Heijden pushed at the front on the penultimate lap, but Brand lurked in Position 2. Of the sextet, Riberolle lagged the most. Brand, Bakker and van der Heijden crossed the line nine seconds ahead of Cant and Worst.
On the bell lap, Brand finally slipped into the lead. On the flat beside the lake, Brand went full gas, distancing Bakker, but van der Heijden was able to close it down. Bakker was reunited. Brand forced another gap but had to run in a sand section where van der Heijden could ride. The two sprinted it out and Brand claimed her ninth triumph of the season.
The last round is next Sunday in Brussels. Brand doesn’t even have to race it.
X2O Badkamers Trofee Round 7, Lille
1) Lucinda Brand (The Netherlands/Baloise-Glowi Lions) 41:49
2) Inge van der Heijden (The Netherlands/Crelan-Corendon) s.t.
3) Manon Bakker (The Netherlands/Crelan-Corendon) +0:05
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