Lucinda Brand wins the World Cup round in Terralba

Lucinda Brand once again showed her class under the Italian sun. In Terralba, she took her second World Cup victory of the season, the twenty-second of her career. After a controlled yet devastating solo of five laps, she could step onto the top podium, ahead of Aniek van Alphen and Shirin van Anrooij.

There was no sign of the traditional post-stage dip for Lucinda Brand (Baloise Glowi Lions). On the contrary: the combination of Mediterranean sunshine and the striking umbrella pines seemed only to sharpen her focus. In the first sandy section she immediately put the hammer down, quickly forming a lead group with Aniek van Alphen (Seven Racing), Sara Casasola (Crelan-Corendon) and Leonie Bentveld (Pauwels Sauzen – Altez Industriebouw Cycling Team).

Not much later, the former world and Dutch champion accelerated again. The group completely broke apart, while World Cup leader Van Alphen struggled to find her rhythm and had to let Brand go. Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise Glowi Lions) managed to come back from behind and join Van Alphen. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, slightly ill, had already abandoned the race by then.

At the end of the second lap, things were more or less clear: the fight for the day’s victory was over. Brand was riding in Terralba at a level no one could match and steadily extended her lead. She crossed the finish line emotional, it was her fifth win in a row. She celebrated with a quick dip in the Mediterranean Sea.

Behind her, a nice battle unfolded between a reborn Van Anrooij and Van Alphen. The latter eventually came out on top, finishing second, and she still leads Brand by ten points in the World Cup standings.