Lucinda Brand (Baloise Glowi Lions) secured another cyclo-cross victory, continuing a remarkable 12-race winning streak and 16th season win at X2O Trofee Loenhout-Azencross in Loenhout, Belgium, on Monday.
The Dutch rider soloed to her win by five seconds ahead of the runner-up, Kristyna Zemanová, and 12 seconds ahead of third-placed Manon Bakker (Creland-Corendon). Zoe Backstedt (Canyon-Sram zondacrypto) finished fourth on the day.
"It was difficult to make a difference here. I wanted to wait a bit anyway, and it was slippery," Brand told Sporza. "I switched to a coarser tire tread to be able to release more power, and I knew I couldn't wait for a sprint. Zemanova eventually broke."
On a slick circuit in Loenhout, Brand had to contend with a slower start than usual but quickly raced to the front over the following two laps. She settled into a group that included Zemanová, Bakker and Bäckstedt.
Brand put pressure on the group and held a solo lead on the last lap, but faced tough competition from Zemanová, who hung on to her second-place on the last lap just seconds behind Brand.
"I'm speechless because Lucinda is my hero. It's amazing that I can race against her. My photo on the podium will be my new wallpaper," Zemanová said.
Bakker took the last spot on the podium, Bäckstedt crossed the line in fourth, 22 seconds back, and Marion Norbert Riberolle (also Creland-Corendon) in fifth, at 35 seconds back.
Brand is leading the standings after winning the first five rounds of the eight-round X20 Trofee series.
Results
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