Lucinda Brand wins elite women's race in Tabor

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Lucinda Brand (Telenet Baloise Lions) made it two wins from two races this weekend, soloing to victory at the first UCI World Cup meet of the season in Tabor.

The Dutchwoman beat world champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Fenix) into second place by 24 seconds, with Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) completing an all-Dutch podium, 32 seconds back.

"I felt very strong, but it hurt because yesterday still bothered me," Brand said after the race, referring to Saturday's win in Kortrijk.

"I made some small mistakes, but so did everyone. Apparently, everyone was struggling, so that's why I kept putting on pressure. It was a tough course even if it looked easy. It took effort."

Brand had attacked from an elite lead group late on during a fast race on the grassy course. She jumped away from a group containing Alvarado, Betsema, Annemarie Worst (777), Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Fenix) and Blanka Vas (Dolctini-Van Eyck) three laps from the end of the six-lap race with Alvarado the last to hang on to her wheel after 20 minutes of racing.

Soon afterwards though, Brand kicked again towards the end of the lap, shedding her compatriot by the start of lap four and riding alone for the final 26 minutes of action. Further back, the chasers were already 15 seconds down, leaving Alvarado a clear run to second place.

Worst, Vas and Betsema were left to battle it out over the final podium place, a back-and-forth battle that wouldn't be resolved until the final lap. Betsema eventually overhauled Vas on the run to the line, the pair having dropped Worst shortly beforehand.

The first corner of the race was marred by a crash in the peloton which took down a number of notable riders, including Shirin van Anrooij (Telenet Baloise Lions), Eva Lechner (Starcasino) and Katie Compton (KFC Racing p/b Trek/Knight Composites). Van Anrooij came off the worst, suffering an arm injury that put her out of the race with a deep wound and suspected broken arm.