In one of cyclocross fans favourite races of the winter, Lucinda Brand has won the Superprestige Diegem Cross to take her first victory since Dublin at the start of the month. The Dutch rider beat Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado who came second, and Inge van der Heijden in third place.
In front of a huge crowd, Lucinda Brand and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado started fast, whilst Sanne Cant initially struggled but fought her way back to near the front of the pack quickly. After two laps of the course, it was Brand who led by just a second from Alvarado, with gaps having been created in the sand.
With two rounds to go, it was simply a two horse race between Brand and Alvarado. Both tried to distance each other on separate occasions, but appeared to have equally good legs. But with just over a lap remaining, boom! Brand was gone, she got some distance over Alavarado, and never looked back and had 10 seconds over her rival with a lap to go.
Even as the lead grew, Brand still appeared nervous of a comeback from Alvarado, as she kept checking over her shoulder. But that was not to be, and victory went to Brand. That's it for cyclocross in 2024 for the women now, but the riders are straight back to action on New Year's Day, as the X2O Trofee Baal is the latest in the action packed schedule for the cyclocross field.
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