Lucinda Brand (Baloise Glowi Lions) won the UCI World Cup Hoogerheide to celebrate her overall victory in the 11-race cyclocross series in style.
Brand was again strong and skilled in the thick mud as Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) and then world champion Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike) joined her but then crashed and faded.
Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) came through to finish 28 seconds down on Brand. Pieterse was third at 39 seconds.
Brand ended the World Cup series with a total of 350 points, beating Van Empel, who scored 276 points, and Vas scored 253 points. Brand has ridden 27 cyclocross races so far this winter and always finished in the top three, winning eight of them.
"It's a great way to finish the World Cup," Brand said. "I felt OK on the first lap but it was not amazing.
"Then we, Puck and I, came together. I felt good and thought we'd continue together and we'd see how the race ended. Then she made a mistake and I knew I had to take my chance and keep pushing."
Asked if she was feeling good for next weekend's World Championships in France, Brand was succinct: "Exactly. Yes."
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France's Hélène Clauzel (Van Rysel Racing Team) had the best start and led up the rising road and onto the grass and first descent. Van Empel and Pieterse also started well, while Brand had her typical slower start but soon joined them in a show of intention.
Clauzel and everyone else were soon distanced by Brand, Van Empel and Pieterse in a show of ability and form. Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) was the first to take a tumble and soon climbed off to avoid worsening any injuries. Vos also crashed on Saturday in Maasmechelen, and finished a disappointing 13th.
Brand took advantage of Pieterse's sudden and surprising first fall on the first lap and rode away and opened a 20-second gap.
Van Empel tried to close the gap but she also fell on the fourth lap. She got stuck in a rut, tried to ride across it and was thrown to the ground. It was the second crash in two days and the world champion seemed shocked despite riding on.
Vas was more consistent and more skilled. She moved up to second place but was 27 seconds down on Brand with a fifth and final lap to race. Pieterse and Van Empel were at 45 seconds.
Brand powered on and increased her lead to show she is also a favourite for next week's World Championships.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
