Brand calls UCI threats to punish riders for skipping cyclocross World Cups 'short-sighted'

By
published

'You can try to shove something right down our throats, but that won't work' says former World Champion in Nieuwsblad report

Dutch rider Lucinda Brand climbs a slope during the womens elite race at the World Cup cyclocross cycling event in Dendermonde on November 12 2023 stage 3 out of 14 of the UCI World Cup cyclocross competition Photo by Tom Goyvaerts Belga AFP Belgium OUT Photo by TOM GOYVAERTSBelgaAFP via Getty Images
Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) in her first race of the 2023/24 cyclocross season, the Dendermonde World Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)

Lucinda Brand has added to the chorus of rider discontent after UCI President David Lappartient raised the possibility of preventing riders from racing the Cyclo-cross World Championships if they skipped rounds World Cup rounds. The former World Champion has instead urged a more consultative approach.

“I understand what they want to achieve, but I think it is a bit short-sighted,” Brand said in a report from Nieuwsblad. “In my opinion, they should talk to us about how we envision this. 

Simone Giuliani
Simone Giuliani
Australia Editor

Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.