Dutchwoman Lucinda Brand became cyclo-cross world champion by winning ahead of her compatriot Ceylin Alvarado on Saturday in Hulst in the Netherlands. Puck Pieterse completed the podium and the Dutch triumph a good distance from the first two. Untouchable in the World Cup, victorious eighteen times this season, Brand (36 years old) won her second world title after that of 2021. Despite a fall in the fourth lap which allowed Alvarado to get back on track, Brand did not panic and accelerated at the start of the last lap to seal her success. The Frenchwoman Amandine Fouquenet, left behind from the start of the race, finished in fifth place. On the men’s side, Mathieu van der Poel will be the big favorite for the race scheduled for February 1. The Dutchman will aim for an eighth world crown, which would constitute a record.
