World champion attacks during final lap to beat Pieterse and Worst
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World Champion Lucinda Brand wins in Tabor(Image credit: Getty Images)
Puck Pieterse of Team Alpecin-Fenix chases Lucinda Brand of Team Baloise Trek Lions while fans cheer(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Lucinda Brand of Baloise Trek Lions competes ahead of Annemarie Worst of Team 777 during round 6 of World Cup(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Inge Van Der Heijden of The Netherlands and Team 777 competes ahead of Eva Lechner of Team Italy (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
On Tabor course is Shirin Van Anrooij of Team Trek-Segafredo(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Blanka Kata Vas of Hungary and Team SD Worx competes during Tabor World Cup(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Elite women's podium (L to R): Puck Pieterse of The Netherlands and Team Alpecin-Fenix on second place, race winner Lucinda Brand of The Netherland and Team Baloise Trek Lions and Annemarie Worst of The Netherlands and Team 777 on third place(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Maghalie Rochette of Canada crosses the finishing line in 10th position(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Puck Pieterse of The Netherlands and Team AlpeciFenix finishes second(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Denise Betsema of The Netherlands and Team Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal finishes fifth (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
World cyclo-cross champion Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) used her superior power and tactics to ride away from a leading group of seven riders on the last lap to win the elite women's UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Tabor.
The Dutch rider took the lead for the last lap, with her increase in pace too strong for her rivals, who fell away in the last moments of the race.
Teenager Puck Pieterse (Alpecin - Fenix) had made the race with constant attacks and by jumping over the uphill planks section. She was rewarded by sprinting home for second narrowly beating Annemarie Worst (777) into third.
Brand extended her lead in the world cup to 19 points after rival for the series Betsema placed fifth despite finishing just nine seconds behind winner Brand. In her post-race interview Brand praised 19-year-old Pieterse and her attacks over the uphill planks on each lap.
“It was a really good race again,” said 19-year-old Pieters, talking about her second place.
“The small climbs, the power and the corner and of course the barriers.”
How it unfolded
Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) was the in-form rider coming into the event having won the European championships last weekend and midweek Superprestige event in Niel.
The Dutch rider took the lead after the fast and wide asphalt start with Under 23 rider Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Fenix) monitoring her senior rival while further down the field early crashes delayed those towards the back of the field.
After winning the previous world cup round in Overijse, Blanka Vas (Team SD Worx) led the rest of the field back to the early leaders as they snaked around the dry and fast course in the Czech Republic.
Pieterse, aged just 19, lead into the uphill planks before using her skills to bunny hop the obstacle. Impressively, she was the only elite woman able to do so.
Unlike the mud which has greeted riders in Belgium and Holland in recent weeks, the dry Tabor course allowed a group of 10 riders to form after the opening lap.
After finishing second in the last World Cup race in Overijse, Pieterse continued to push the pace while road rider Brand was using her strength on the relentless grassy climbs to put her rivals under pressure.
Pieterse attacked again on the uphill planks using her speed and forced Brand to close the gap with Vas able to respond but the remainder of the leading group under pressure.
The leading trio kept the pressure on their rivals in the front group with Annemarie Worst (777), Ceylin Alvarado (Alpecin-Fenix), Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) and Shirin Van Anrooij (Baloise Trek Lions) all pulling their way back to the head of proceedings.
Betsema who sat level on points at the head of the World Cup with Brand coming into the sixth round looked to be struggling with the constant pace being enforced by Vas, Pieterse and Brand.
However, as the pace slowed on the asphalt start/finish area Betsema came back through the leading group of eight riders and looked to attack, only for Vas to outmuscle the Dutch rider and continue to push the pace.
On the fourth lap, Pieterse again attacked through the planks and got the slender gap she desired, as the chasers led by Vas sat eight seconds back with two laps remaining.
As the chasing group started to feel the relentless pace of the race, Betsema came to the front closing the gap to Pieterse before they hit planks again allowing the youngster to grow her gap once more.
Betsema again responded by pulling the leading group back to the leader, with only Van Anrooij losing ground on the six leaders together with a lap remaining.
World champion Brand had sat back in the leading group for a while but suddenly attacked off the asphalt section on the last lap to lead into the twisty grass corners and sharp climbs for the final time.
Pressure from Brand on the final lap distanced her rivals and cleverly stopped Pieterse attacking on the plank section but the young rider used her better technique to move up to second place.
The relentless pace of Brand forced open a gap of three seconds at the finish with Pieterse sprinting past Worst for second while Alvarado was pushed down into fourth.
Betsema was slightly distanced from the sprint for the podium places and lost vital world cup points over Brand finishing fifth.
Ben raced as an amateur cyclist in the UK from a young age into the senior ranks on the road, track and in cyclocross. He has an NQJ qualification in journalism, and a sports journalism degree, and has spent over 10 years as a news and sports journalist. Ben has been covering cyclocross for media outlets, including Cyclingnews, since 2021 and has been on the ground reporting at World Championships in Zolder, Belvaux, Valkenberg, Dubendorf, and Hoogerheide. Away from cycling as a freelance sports journalist, Ben regularly reports on a range of sports including football, rugby, and snooker amongst others. However, he is happiest whilst reporting on-site at cyclocross races in Belgium and the Netherlands.
