"Fem van Empel is simply head and shoulders above" - Lucinda Brand 'best of the rest' at Cyclocross World Championships

Although Fem van Empel was far and away the winner in the women's elite Cyclocross World Championships on Saturday afternoon in Tabor, Lucinda Brand's efforts to finish second cannot be discounted.

“Winning is always the best, but this one was also very nice. I am the best of the rest, Fem is simply head and shoulders above the rest at the moment,” the vastly experienced Dutchwoman admits in her post-race interview. “She is someone with a lot of talent, she can lose a lot of assets. I hope that she can continue this trend, so that she can achieve many other great results. For me it is important to stay on track for as long as possible.”

Although as mentioned, van Empel was way ahead in the distance, the battle for silver between Brand and Puck Pieterse was much more exciting. “In the beginning, Puck got ahead of me a bit, then I just tried to keep my own rhythm," she explains. "Suddenly she had a bad part. Then I could get on and ahead and I thought: now I have to move on.”

For Brand it's a much sweeter feeling than the last time she raced in Tabor. “When I broke my hand here in Tábor, it was all worthless. Lots of ups and downs, it wasn't always pleasant at home. But I'm glad that somewhere inside I was able to find the confidence and continue to believe in it.”