“I raised the pace to break her” – Lucinda Brand explains decisive Dendermonde move

Lucinda Brand admitted she surprised even herself with how quickly the race broke open at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup Dendermonde, after powering to another dominant solo victory on a fast and unforgiving course.

Brand found herself clear earlier than expected on the opening lap, as the high tempo and early incidents immediately stretched the field. “I was surprised myself that a gap opened in the first lap,” Brand said after the finish to Sporza. “They were shouting ‘ride, ride!’ and Amandine had a good speed.”

That early intensity proved decisive. After forming part of the initial front group, Brand steadily increased the pressure, first shedding Gery and then isolating Amandine Fouquenet before riding away alone. When Puck Pieterse briefly began to close the gap, Brand responded with a calculated increase in pace. “When Puck came a bit closer, I wanted to raise the tempo to break her,” Brand said. “And it worked.”

That acceleration proved the turning point of the race. Pieterse’s fastest lap forced Brand to respond, but once the leader lifted the pace again through the finish and out of the corners, the elastic snapped. From there, Brand settled into a controlled solo effort, maintaining a stable advantage through the remaining laps.

Brand also reflected on her current form, with the Dendermonde win marking her 15th victory of the season and reinforcing her grip on the winter campaign.

“It’s going well,” she said. “What surprises me most is how well my body is holding up in this period. It’s tough to recover, but when things are going well, everything just flows a bit more easily.”

That physical resilience was evident again in Dendermonde, where short lap times left little room for recovery and demanded constant power output. Brand rode smoothly throughout the second half of the race, even briefly stretching her back before pressing on again, never allowing the gap behind to shrink meaningfully.

Behind her, Pieterse and Fouquenet fought out the remaining podium places, with Pieterse ultimately securing second on the final lap. But at the front, Brand’s decisive response to pressure had already settled the outcome long before the finish.

With another commanding solo victory added to her tally, Brand’s comments underlined a rider not only in form, but fully in control of both race situations and her own condition as the World Cup calendar continues at pace.