"Fem is a faster rider than me" - Lucinda Brand loses Baal cyclocross in a thrilling head-to-head sprint

Lucinda Brand almost went two in a row at the X2O Trophy round in Baal. However in the very last meters of the cross, world champion Fem van Empel showed why she wears rainbow and passed Brand on her way to victory. What went wrong according to the Dutch champion?

"It’s very simple: I think she can just ride a little bit faster uphill," Brand said about Van Empel in the flash interview afterwards. "Then you can gradually get a few seconds closer. And if you see in the final that you are getting closer, you obviously have a nice target."

A slippery course in Baal naturally saw riders battle with their bikes as well as the opponents, but Brand doesn't think she had any decisive mistakes on the course. "I think that everyone on this course will make a slide here or there that you would rather not make, so that remains the same. Fem is a faster rider than me anyway. It was headwind at the finish, so I knew that it was going to be very difficult." Van Empel was simply better, she acknowledged.

Therefore it's a second in the GP Sven Nys Baal, a race that honors the cyclocross legacy of her Baloise - Trek Lions team manager. Does it hurt the more to lose on what is almost a "home" race? "I'm disappointed of course, when you're so close to victory. It's a real shame. But yes, it was a good race again," she concludes.

Brand thus continues her impressive streak of 29 cyclocross podiums which started almost a year ago in another X2O Trophy round - in Hamme. So far this season, the Dutch champion has already finished runner-up on 13 occasions - an impressive record that she would certainly exchange for a couple more victories on the spot.