Lucinda Brand doesn't get tired of winning and also takes home the X2O Trofee Hofstade Plage Cross

Bakker, especially active and comfortable in the sand of Hofstade, even took the lead during some sections, but Brand's response was immediate. In the second lap, a powerful passage through the softest areas of the circuit allowed the Baloise Glowi Lions rider to open a gap that would prove definitive.

From that moment on, the race followed the usual script of this winter, with Brand riding alone, making no mistakes, and gradually increasing her lead. After just over twenty minutes, Bakker and Van Anrooij began to lose ground, and by the halfway point of the race, the leader's advantage was already around twenty seconds.

The victory was never in danger. Brand managed the final laps with confidence to cross the finish line after 45:47 of effort and continue to extend her lead in the overall standings of the X2O Badkamers Trofee.

Behind her, there was a battle. Van Anrooij, theoretically stronger in the final stretch, insisted time and again until she finally dropped Bakker and secured second place, repeating the same result she had achieved days earlier in Koksijde. Bakker, in third, celebrated her first podium of the season in a scoring event.

The fourth place went to Belgian Laura Verdonschot, in one of her last appearances before retiring at the end of the season, while Julie Brouwers completed the top 5.

Top 6 X2O Trofee Hofstade

1. Lucinda Brand (Baloise Glowi Lions) – 45:47
2. Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise Glowi Lions) – at 22”
3. Manon Bakker (Crelan – Corendon) – at 25”
4. Laura Verdonschot (De Ceuster – Bouwpunt) – at 1’42”
5. Julie Brouwers (Charles Liégeois Roastery CX) – at 1’59”
6. Rebecca Gariboldi (Alé Colnago Team) – at 2’24”