Luncida Brand won this Monday, December 29 in Loenhout (Belgium) ahead of Kristyna Zemanova (2nd) and Manon Bakker (3rd).
New victory for Lucinda Brand. The Dutchwoman won on the Loenhout course (Belgium) this Monday and recorded a 12th consecutive victory in her race, the 16th this season. The boss of cyclo-cross is indeed Dutch. She finished five seconds ahead of Zemanova and 12 ahead of Bakker. “It was difficult to tell the difference here. I wanted to wait a bit anyway, and the track was slippery. I opted for more aggressive tread tires so I could unleash more power, and I knew I couldn’t afford to wait for a sprint. Zemanova ended up breaking down,” commented the winner of today’s event.
Zemanova and Craqué
Despite a missed start, slower than usual, Brand quickly took the lead of the race. In a group made up of Zemanova, Bakker and Bäckstedt, the Dutchwoman slowly put pressure on her opponents. In the last lap, she accelerated to outrun Zemanova, still on her wheel. The Czech was also very satisfied with her race and happy to have competed until the last lap with her idol. “I am speechless, because Lucinda is my idol. It’s incredible to be able to race against her. My photo on the podium will be my new wallpaper,” Zemanova said. Brand leads the way in the X20 Trofee championship with five victories in the first five rounds (eight in total).
On the French side, while Amandine Fouquenet finished on the podium (3rd) this Sunday in Termonde (Belgium), it was Marlène Petitgirard who achieved the best French performance. Despite everything, the Frenchwoman took 21st place in the ranking, 2 minutes and 11 seconds behind Brand.
CYCLO-CROSS (F) – LOENHOUT – Monday December 29
1- Lucinda BRAND (NED) in 48’34”
2- Cristine ZEMOVA (RTC) + 5″
3- Manon BAKER (BOTTOM) + 12″
4- Zoé BACKSTEDT (GBR) + 22″
5- Marion NORBERT RIBEROLLE (BEL) + 35″
6- Annemarie PIRE (NED) + 36″
7- Larissa HARTOG (BOTTOM) + 37″
8- Julie BROUWERS (BEL) + 37″
9- Marie SCHREIBER (LUX) + 1’20”
10- Rébecca GARIBOLDI (ITA) + 1’21”
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