Lucinda Brand will not be at the start of the UEC European Cyclocross Championships in Namur on Saturday. The defending champion is still recovering from breaking a bone in her hand two weeks ago.
The Baloise Trek team announced the news with a quote from Brand on social media on Thursday.
"Unfortunately I cannot defend my European title in Namur on Saturday," Brand said. "The recovery of my right hand is going very well. In a road race I could certainly start. But for cross and Namur in particular, technical skills and control are so important that I have to conclude that 80% recovery is not enough to go for the win on Saturday.
"Over the next week, I will continue to focus on my recovery and training to take the last step towards a race comeback."
Brand broke a metacarpal, one of the bones between the fingers and wrist, during the pre-ride of the course for the Tabor round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup on October 23. She underwent surgery the next day in Belgium and was fitted with a cast.
The setback has hampered Brand's bid to repeat last year's record of 20 wins and victories in the World Cup, Superprestige and X2O Badkamers Trofee series.
Brand started the cyclocross season in late September with a second place to Fem van Empel (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) in Beringen. She scored her first victory in Meulebeke the following week. However, in the first World Cup rounds in Waterloo, Wisconsin and Fayetteville, Arkansas, Brand came up against an unstoppable Van Empel.
Having won the first four rounds, Van Empel has a commanding lead of 160 points in the World Cup. Her teammate Denise Betsema is second with 88 points, while Brand is seventh with 55 points.
While the World Cup overall victory might be a challenge in light of the missed rounds, Brand could still target the Superprestige, which had its first round on October 29. Betsema won that race in Ruddervoorde and leads the series ahead of Inge van der Heijden (777) and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
Van Empel leads the X2O Badkamers Trofee after winning the first round at the Koppenbergcross. However, as a timed series, riders who miss a race lose five minutes in the general classification, so Brand will be at a major disadvantage for that series.
