“18 wins is very impressive” – Lucinda Brand explains how she rode away from the field in Benidorm

Lucinda Brand did not wait for the women's race at World Cup Benidorm to finish in a sprint.

She decided it by force, riding away alone on the rising finish and turning the final two laps into a solo time trial. By the time she crossed the line, the race was long settled and her 18th win of the season was secure.

The decisive move came when Brand accelerated from deeper in the group and immediately split the race apart. Only Amandine Fouquenet and Celia Gery could follow at first, but even they were soon dropped when Brand pushed again over the climb. From that moment on, the race became a chase for the podium rather than the win.

Behind her, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado fought back strongly after earlier losing ground on the climb. She recovered from a technical mistake, outmanoeuvred Fouquenet before the sand section, and used a sharp technical move to secure second place. Fouquenet then edged Gery by half a wheel in the uphill sprint for third.

After the race, Brand said she was “very happy” with her first victory in Benidorm and explained why she chose to make the race hard from distance.

“In the beginning everyone was waiting and watching,” she said in conversation with Sporza. “I knew I was better on the slanted section, but then you have to be at the front. In the second half I decided to make it hard, because there was too much standing still.”

That decision turned a tense, tactical race into a one-rider show. Once Brand committed, no one was able to follow the sustained pressure she applied on the climb and through the technical sections.

The victory was also her 18th of the season, a number she herself described as remarkable. “Very impressive,” she said. Asked whether she now felt on schedule for the World Championships, she added: “Yes, for sure. There are still a few details that can be better.”

More than the number itself, the performance mattered. After a flatter ride the previous week, Brand felt she was back where she wanted to be. “It is nice to notice that I am reaching my old level again and not riding like last week.”

In Benidorm, that old level was more than enough. Once she decided the waiting was over, no one else had an answer.