Lucinda Brand crowns a fantastic season by winning the World Championship in Hulst

There were no surprises in the women's race at the World Championship in Hulst, and Lucinda Brand managed to complete an almost perfect season in which she has dominated the World Cup and the X2O trophy with ease, now certifying what is only her second title as World Champion.

Lucinda Brand unmatched at the World Championship in Hulst despite suffering a fall

The race was uncertain after Lucinda Brand revealed in pre-race interviews that her absence from last weekend's World Cup events was due to a minor hamstring injury that had kept her from training normally for several days, only able to use the trainer. In fact, according to her own words, she had not been able to train normally until last Wednesday.

Knowing the situation, both Puck Pieterse and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado tried to go all out, which forced Lucinda to recover from a start that was not the best to extinguish that fire before the situation became irreparable. A group of six formed at the front, which also included Kata Vas, Jolanda Neff, and Kristyna Zemanova.

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Midway through the second lap, Lucinda Brand decided to take action and set a strong pace that broke the group, leaving the three Dutch riders at the front. Lucinda's insistence was such that she began to stretch the gap so much that on one of the descents, Puck Pieterse, who was trying to close the gap, fell heavily, leaving the race clear for Brand, with Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado seemingly unable to close the gap, even though it was not yet very wide.

Puck injured herself and was caught by a chasing group that included Zoe Backstedt, making her debut in the Elite World Championship despite being in her last year as a U23, Marion Norbert Riberolle, and Amandine Fouquenet, who was trying to break away from that group time and again.

When it seemed that the race was decided with half of it still to go, it was Lucinda Brand who made a mistake and fell, allowing Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado to find herself with an unexpected opportunity that she surely hadn't counted on. However, it would only be an illusion; a couple of laps later, Lucinda Brand returned to the front, increased the pace to break Ceylin's resistance, and secured a well-deserved World Championship.

The only thing left to determine was the bronze medal in a battle that was extremely intense, to the point of seeing situations like the clash between Zemanova and Norbert Riberolle when the former tried to overtake on the inside in a curve, fell, and took the Belgian down with her. She got up and confronted the Czech, pushing her, which cost her an immediate disqualification.

The battle for the bronze medal was resolved on the last lap with Puck Pieterse's acceleration, who took Kata Vas with her, although she could not maintain the pace of the Dutchwoman, who still struggles to secure the rainbow jersey and had to settle for a bronze medal.

2026 Cyclocross World Championship Results – Women's Elite

1. Lucinda Brand (Netherlands) 49'16''
2. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Netherlands) +27''
3. Puck Pieterse (Netherlands) +51''
4. Kata Blanka Vas (Hungary) +56''
5. Amandine Fouquenet (France) +58''
6. Jolanda Neff (Switzerland) +1'02''
7. Zoe Backstedt (Great Britain) +1'05''
8. Manon Bakker (Netherlands) +1'11''
9. Shirin van Anrooij (Netherlands) +1'20''
10. Marie Schreiber (Luxembourg) +1'37''