Lucinda Brand celebrates fifth victory of season at Superprestige Middelkerke: “The power is still there"

From pretty much her first pedal stroke to her last, Lucinda Brand was without peer on Saturday afternoon at Superprestige Middelkerke, easing to a dominant, solo win by over a minute from Laura Verdonschot. 

“It is very nice to get another victory this season. It was very tough,” reflects the Baloise - Trek Lions star in her post-race interview after her fifth victory of the winter. “It was just a very slow slow pace, there was no real acceleration anywhere. Of course, that was also because I rode the entire cross on my own, at one steady pace. I was very happy with that, because there wasn't much more to it.”

Whilst Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado threatened to keep company with Brand for a short while, a few mistakes meant Alvarado was forced to eventually settle for third place on the day. “I saw her make that slip," Brand recalls. "so of course I didn't hesitate to just keep going at my own pace. It is nice if you have the space and are not in someone's wheel on this lap.”

As mentioned, this marks Brand's fifth win of the season and with another race tomorrow, before she returns her attention to the road, that number could still rise higher still. “The power is still there. In any case, this one is on the honours list and who knows what will come next."