“In the past, I was indeed always top notch" - Lucinda Brand out for victory at Cyclocross World Championship

After a season where it has seemed luck has deserted Lucinda Brand, the 33-year-old Dutchwoman is out to ensure that her winter period ends on a high at the Cyclocross World Championships.

Hoogerheide has long been one of Brand's favourite venues for cyclocross. A two-time winner on the course in the UCI World Cup in 2020 and 2019, Brand also narrowly missed out on a third success in 2022, finishing 10 seconds behind Marianne Vos.

“In the past, I was indeed always top notch,” Brand admits to WielerFlits when discussing her past successes in Hoogerheide. “It was something I could keep working for, even if the results were sometimes disappointing. I've had more ups and downs than I had hoped for, but that World Championship kept giving me hope. That also has to do with the course, which in principle is perfectly within my capabilities."

"The World Championship is always special and especially when it is in your own country, that gives something extra,” she declares, sending out a warning to her fellow competitors.