Brand the best in Tabor

The Dutch Lucinda Brand is in a great form and she proved that once again in Tabor. In the first UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup round of the season she was the best, before world champion Alvarado and Denise Betsema. Because of her victory she is also the first leader in the rankings.

We had a closed beginning of this first World Cup race in the Czech Tabor. It lasted until lap three, when Lucinda Brand (Telenet-Baloise Lions) took the pace up. The Dutch put everyone under pressure, only world champion Alvarado (Alpecin-Fenix) could keep up with Brand.

However, the world champion doesn’t take over, it is Brand who keeps setting the pace. At the end of the third lap Alvarado also has to give in to Brand. With three laps to go, Brand continues to give everything on Czech soil. At the end of lap 4 she has a 12 second lead on first pursuer Alvarado. At 33 seconds Vas (Doltcini - Van Eyck Sport), Worst (Team 777) and Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal) follow, competing for third place.

Brand also rides away second by second in the penultimate lap. She dives into the final lap with a lead of 22 sec. Without bad luck world champion Alvarado is on her way to second place. Especially the battle for the last podium place is still exciting. The Hungarian Vas puts her Dutch competitors Worst and Betsema under a lot of pressure.

In the meantime, Brand has reached the finish line solo and takes the win in the first UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup round of the season. In just over half a minute world champion Alvarado crossed the line in second place. For third place it's Betsema who beats Vas in the last straight line thus completes the Dutch podium.

Because of her victory in Tabor, Brand is also automatically the first leader of the season.