“I’m not really into statistics, but this is very special” – Lucinda Brand on the brink of 50 straight cyclocross podiums with magnificent Merksplas mastery

Lucinda Brand’s winter continues to move with the momentum of a freight train. Fresh off yet another commanding ride at Superprestige Merksplas, the Dutch icon now finds herself on the verge of a milestone rarely seen in modern cyclocross: 50 consecutive podium finishes.

For a rider who insists she doesn’t chase numbers, the significance wasn’t lost on her. Brand delivered one decisive acceleration on the Merksplas circuit — a single, well-timed effort that immediately snapped the elastic to her rivals and carried her to a sixth victory of the season.

Afterwards, she admitted the move came at a moment when even she wasn’t entirely convinced the sand would be her strongest ally.

“I noticed that I wasn’t always the best in the sand, but that was exactly when they had a hesitation,” she said. “I was able to carry my speed and I thought: I’ll give it a try. It turned out to be the right moment straight away.”

Throughout the opening laps, Brand rode with composure despite an early bike change and several reshuffles among the Dutch leaders. But as the field began to thin and the race hardened, she leaned on her experience to make sure she hit the final sand stretches with the upper hand. “On certain sections I tried to use my strengths so that I could start the sand with enough recovery,” she explained. “That worked well.”

Her rivals could only watch the gap grow. Aniek van Alphen, who produced her best Superprestige ride of the season to take second place, admitted she felt close to matching Brand — but only for so long.

“I needed a moment to get into it. After that I felt I could hold Lucinda’s pace, but she was strong enough to open a gap,” Van Alphen said. “Maybe I had a slightly weaker passage through the sand. I had to let a small gap go straight away and I had to catch my breath. I was in the position to go with her, but she was just a little bit stronger at that moment.”

Tomorrow, Brand can reach a landmark that underlines just how relentlessly consistent she has become. Even she acknowledged the weight of the achievement — despite her usual insistence that statistics don’t define her.

“I’m not really into statistics, but this is very special,” she laughed. “For some people it seems obvious, but it isn’t. I’m very happy with it.”

With her form building, her rivals searching for answers, and yet another flawless Merksplas performance in the books, Brand stands on the brink of a cross milestone that few have ever approached — and one that shows no signs of slowing any time soon.