Lucinda Brand shines at the Koksijde World Cup and confirms her leadership

The Koksijde World Cup, the sixth event of the twelve that make up the calendar, confirmed this Sunday that Lucinda Brand is a step ahead of the rest. After donning the leader's jersey on Saturday following a hard-fought victory, today in the sand of the Duinencross, she imposed her authority from start to finish.

Lucinda Brand re-establishes her territory in Koksijde and solidifies her position as leader of the World Cup

Lucinda Brand did not wait and started to create differences in the sandy sections from the very first laps, where she was clearly the strongest. So much so that even specialists and former riders noted that they had never seen Brand ride so well on the sand.

Behind her, the race had a clear script from very early on. Aniek van Alphen, who had lost the overall lead yesterday, set out with the clear intention of regaining it, while Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado aimed to fight for victory again. However, neither could keep up with a unleashed Brand, who extended her lead lap after lap until she was riding completely alone at the front.

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The second position was secured by Shirin van Anrooij, who once again delivered a very solid race, although without any real chance of challenging her teammate. With Brand and Van Anrooij standing out, all the excitement shifted to the battle for third place, which kept the tension until the end.

In this battle were Puck Pieterse, Van Alphen, and Alvarado. Pieterse launched her offensive first and it seemed she had the podium secured, but Alvarado showed character in the final laps, found a second wind, and managed to get back into the fight. Ultimately, the podium was decided in a sprint, with Ceylin Alvarado prevailing in that final stretch to take a highly celebrated third place after a day of much suffering.

With this result, Lucinda Brand not only adds a key victory in one of the most emblematic circuits of the calendar, but also reinforces her leadership in the overall classification just at the midpoint of the World Cup. After what was seen in Antwerp and Koksijde, the feeling is that if anyone wants to contest the title, they will have to find something more than consistency to stop a Brand who currently seems unbeatable.

Top 10 – Koksijde World Cup | Elite Women

1. Lucinda Brand (Baloise Glowi Lions) – 48:08
2. Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise Glowi Lions) – +36”
3. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck) – +1:03
4. Aniek van Alphen (Seven Racing) – +1:07
5. Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) – +1:11
6. Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) – +2:13
7. Denise Betsema (De Ceuster–Bouwpunt) – +2:16
8. Leonie Bentveld (Pauwels Sauzen–Altez) – +2:25
9. Kristýna Zemanová – +2:26
10. Amandine Fouquenet (Arkéa–B&B Hotels Women) – +2:37