“I knew I couldn’t wait for a sprint” – Lucinda Brand reveals the gamble behind her Loenhout winning move

Lucinda Brand admitted it took patience, equipment changes and careful timing to secure her latest win at the X2O Trofee Azencross Loenhout, after a race that unfolded very differently from her recent solo performances.

“It was difficult to make the difference here,” Brand said to Sporza after the finish. “I definitely wanted to wait a bit, and it was slippery.”

Unlike previous races, Brand was unable to ride clear early on Loenhout’s greasy circuit. Instead, she was forced into a tactical battle with a small group of rivals, most notably Kristyna Zemanova, who repeatedly neutralised her accelerations and stayed glued to her wheel deep into the final lap.

Recognising that the race was not going to be decided by brute force alone, Brand adjusted her setup as conditions worsened. “I switched to a coarser tyre profile so I could put more power down,” she explained. “And I knew I couldn’t wait for a sprint. Zemanova eventually cracked.”

That moment came only late in the race, after sustained pressure rather than a single decisive attack. Brand raised the tempo again in the closing phase, riding cleanly through the technical sections and finally forcing separation on a course where mistakes were punished instantly.

For once, there was no long solo ride to the finish, something Brand openly welcomed.

“Really fun,” she laughed. “But it was difficult to work out where I could actually make the difference.”

Second-placed Kristyna Zemanova was the standout challenger, pushing Brand harder than any rider had managed in recent weeks. The Czech champion matched Brand’s pace for much of the race and remained a constant presence at the front until the final kilometres.

“Fantastic,” Zemanova said afterwards. “I’ve dreamed about this so many times.”

Her podium finish carried special significance given the company she kept throughout the race.

“I have no words, because Lucinda is my big hero,” Zemanova added. “It’s amazing that I can race against her. My photo on the podium will be my new wallpaper.”

For Brand, the Loenhout win underlined her versatility. When a dominant solo was not an option, she adapted, waited and struck precisely when it mattered, proving that control and decision-making remain just as important as raw power in the winter’s most technical races.