Brand wins for the first time in Antwerp
Brand claimed her fourth World Cup victory of the season in Antwerp. After a thrilling race that pushed her to the limit, she crossed the line two seconds ahead of Alvarado. Van Alpen finished third and had to relinquish the leader’s jersey to Brand.
It was Van Alphen (Seven Racing), the overall leader, who got off to the fastest start in Antwerp. European champion Van der Heijden (Crelan–Corendon) managed to follow Van Alphen’s wheel, but Brand (Baloise Glowi Lions) was already in the chasing group by the end of the first lap. After Van der Heijden slipped on the sloped section at the end of lap one, Van Alphen remained alone at the front.
At the start of lap two, Brand took the initiative in the chase behind Van Alphen, with Van der Heijden, Van Anrooij (Baloise Glowi Lions), Bakker (Crelan–Corendon) and Fouquenet (Arkea–B&B Hotels Women) in tow. By the middle of the second lap, she had bridged across, along with Van Anrooij and the rest of the chasing group, forming a leading group of seven.
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Immediately after this merge, Pieterse (Fenix–Deceuninck) accelerated, breaking up the group. Alvarado (Fenix–Deceuninck), Brand, and Van Anrooij formed a three-rider chase and were able to reconnect at the start of the third of six laps. Alvarado then took the initiative at the front, forcing Van Anrooij, as earlier, to drop off.
Midway through the race, Brand launched a powerful sprint along the long sand section, breaking everyone except Alvarado. In the next sand stretch, Alvarado responded with a sprint of her own. The two seemed evenly matched but did not dare to challenge each other fully. This allowed the chasing group to gradually close in during the penultimate lap. Just after being caught, Brand accelerated again and only Alvarado could follow.
Brand kept the pressure extremely high, preventing Alvarado from closing the gap in the final metres. Even when Brand briefly faltered, Alvarado could not capitalize. In the final sprint, Brand had to give everything to retake first place and hold Alvarado at a narrow deficit. With just a two-second advantage, Brand claimed her first victory in Antwerp and also took over the overall lead from Van Alphen.
