"My start was super good" - Lucinda Brand an impressive second in return to action following injury

In her first Cyclocross race of the campaign, Lucinda Brand showed little signs of rustiness. The 34-year-old Dutchwoman returned to action by taking a very respectable second-placed finish on Sunday afternoon in Dendermonde.

“I'd have signed up for this right before the start,” the Baloise Trek Lions star said afterwards in her post-race interview. “Although I only thought about second place halfway through the race. My start was super good, but I found myself quite disappointed.”

Cyclocross World Champion back in 2021, Brand has had a long fight back from injury but immediately flew out the blocks on her UCI World Cup return. “It was difficult to get into my rhythm," she assesses. "At first I thought for a moment: oh, I might be slowly dying. However, I was able to maintain a good pace afterwards. After my start, I took it easy for the difficult sections.”

“It was really a super tough match. I didn't know beforehand exactly where I would be. So my start was good, but actually a bit too good,” Brand concludes, after finish nearly a minute behind Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado. “I then caught my breath for a moment, but that is also part of the first race back. However, I managed to keep it going.”