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.
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…
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