Lucinda Brand (Baloise Glowi) continued to be indomitable in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, taking her seventh straight series win in Dendermonde and her 11th victory in a row. She's won so many, Brand couldn't compare this win to her others.
"There have been always good days that you're flying around. It's really hard to compare day by day," she said in a brief post-races interview.
After Brand's escape on lap 3, the battle for second place ended with Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) getting away from the ever-impressive Amandine Fouquenet (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) on the final lap.
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"My start was not super," Pieterse said. "I got boxed in a bit, and that made me lose quite some time. And then in the second or third lap, when I was about to make the gap to the to the leaders, Lucina looked back and she went for it, unfortunately.
"On this loop, five seconds is a big gap, and I already knew that before the race. So yeah, at one point, Lucinda had like, 12 seconds, I think."
The Dutch champion went on to explain how such a seemingly small gap could be unclosable.
"On TV, you think when you're watching, 'Oh, why doesn't she sprint towards her?' But 12 seconds on such a fast race course is so much.
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"I just decided to play it for second place, so I stayed in the wheel a bit, trying to recover, and then place an attack in the last lap."
Brand has been so impressive in any weather this year; she has only lost two races this season, coming second in the European Championships early last month and the Superprestige in Overijse in October, but will not sweep the series after not competing in Flamanville. It has meant most days her rivals are fighting for second place.
After a brilliant start to the race, Fouquenet was content to focus on the attainable, saying, "I'm really happy - it was a great battle with Puck but I wanted to keep the podium. It's a great season for me and I wanted to prove it was possible again."
Pieterse, Brand and Fouquenet on the podium (Image credit: Getty Images)
How it unfolded
The conditions continued to be sunny and dry in an unusual streak of fine weather for the kerstperiode races, and in sharp contrast to the last Dendermonde World Cup last January, where Brand also emerged victorious.
The race got off to a fast start, with Fouquenet leading from the hole shot, followed by up-and-coming riders Leonie Bentveld and Célia Gery (FDJ-SUEZ) and Brand.
But a crash on the sandy downhill by Bentveld opened up a gap behind the other three leaders, forcing Pieterse to chase along with teammate Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado.
Brand in the lead on the run-up (Image credit: Getty Images)
"I was very surprised - passing sand pit on the first lap, there was a big gap. Maybe something happened behind. So I got the queue from the side - 'Just keep going'," Brand said.
As Gery faded, it was Fouquenet who was closest to matching Brand, but by lap three, it was game over.
As Fouquenet faded, she was joined by Pieterse at the start of lap 4 and the pair took turns chasing Brand to no avail.
Having briefly distanced Fouquenet on the next lap, Pieterse was caught with three of nine laps remaining.
It came down to the final lap, during which Pieterse attacked on the run-up and opened a gap in the technical section that followed to finish second at 11 seconds.
Fouquenet relented and came through 12 seconds later, well ahead of Alvarado in fourth.
Further down the rankings, Marion Norbert Riberolle (Crelan-Corendon) made an impressive surge to finish fifth.
Laura Weislo is a Cyclingnews veteran of 20 years. Having joined in 2006, Laura extensively covered the Operacion Puerto doping scandal, the years-long conflict between the UCI and the Tour de France organisers ASO over the creation of the WorldTour, and the downfall of Lance Armstrong and his lifetime ban for doping. As Managing Editor, Laura coordinates coverage for North American events and global news.
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