Brand takes dominant win in muddy Hoogerheide

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Dutch champion Lucinda Brand (Sunweb) powered to a third cyclo-cross World Cup win in the mud of Hoogerheide (Netherlands) on Sunday. Brand held off US-champion Katie Compton (KFC Racing) and overall World Cup winner Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv).

World champion Sanne Cant (Corendon-Circus) narrowly missed out on a podium spot in the ninth and final World Cup round, one week ahead of the Bogense (Denmark) 2019 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.

“It felt super good and I felt strong and I could use my power here,” said Brand. “The first half was not really how I wanted it, but afterwards I had more freedom to take my own lines and then I could really use my power."

No fewer than 75 riders took to the start in Hoogerheide for the final World Cup round, with a bit of rain and plenty of mud awaiting them. After a blistering fast start from Vos, only Cant and Denise Betsema (Marlux-Bingoal) were able to keep up in the opening lap. Brand and Nikki Brammeier followed at seven seconds after the first of four long laps. Compton rode at the back of another group at sixteen seconds from the leaders. For Brand, that opening lap was difficult.

“The riders in front of me were riding different lines and just when I wanted to pass them they crossed in front of me. It just wasn’t going well for me,” she said.

During the second lap, the pace dropped up front and several riders were able to bridge the gap to the front of the race, featuring Brand, Brammeier, Compton and Kaitlin Keough (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com). Halfway through the race, the pace picked up again as Brand charged forward. The Dutch champion - already a winner in Tabor and Namur - found a rhythm that was too high for the other riders to follow. Vos quickly faded while world champion Cant briefly attempted to mark Brand but paid for that.

“If you’re hitting the red zone on this course you’re paying a price for that on the next section. I struggled in the third lap but managed to get through that difficult moment in the final lap,” Cant told Telenet Play Sports.

With Brand alone up front, there was a big battle for second place between Cant, Vos, Compton, Brammeier, Betsema and Keough all in the mix. Betsema struggled with a cough and faded back together with Keough. Vos and Compton passed Cant and reached out to the podium spots. On the final lap, Compton rode away from Vos.

Brand kept Compton at over 10 seconds throughout the final lap and it seemed like she was in control of affairs. In the end, Brand captured a third World Cup victory on yet another terrain, and becomes one of the top favourites at the Bogense 2019 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.

Compton was pleased to finish in second place at nine seconds, her best World Cup result of a difficult season.

“I was just trying to ride within myself, be smart and be smooth. I set my pace, time trialled and it was going to be the result that it was. I didn’t have an asthma attack. I had a good race. Winning was out of my control. I’m really happy with second,” Compton said.

Vos was third at 26 seconds, just ahead of Cant, Brammeier and Keough. Vos was already certain about the overall victory in the World Cup since last week’s penultimate World Cup round in Pont-Château (France). Cant moves over European champion AnneMarie Worst (Steylaerts-777) - thirteenth in Hoogerheide - to second place overall. Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado (Corendon-Circus) is the overall winner in the Women Under 23 category.

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