Lucinda Brand secures CX World Cup title at Benidorm with two rounds to go
Lucinda Brand took a confident victory at UCI World Cup Benidorm on Sunday afternoon, in doing so, mathematically securing the overall title with two rounds to go.
The 36-year-old Dutch rider has won eight of the nine rounds she's contested – Brand decided against racing at Flamanville early in the series in favour of team training camp – with Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado finally breaking her dominant compatriot at a wintery Zonhoven, and then again at the national championships. But in Benidorm, Brand dominated the second half of the race to take her 18th win of the season, and extend her podium streak to 63.
In the overall World Cup standings, Brand now leads challenger and Flamanville winner Aniek Van Alphen by 110 points. With a maximum of just 80 points available at next weekend's Maasmechelen and Hoogerheide double-header, Brand has already won the World Cup.
World Cup Benidorm (round 10) elite women’s top 5
- Lucinda Brand (Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions) 52:01
- Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Premier Tech) +0:10
- Amandine Fouquenet (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw) +0:12
- Célia Gery (AS Bike Racing-France Literie) “
- Kristýna Zemanová +0:52
Elite women’s World Cup standings after Benidorm
- Lucinda Brand – 350 pts
- Aniek Van Alphen – 240 pts
- Amandine Fouquenet – 205 pts
- Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado – 204 pts
- Shirin Van Anrooij – 180 pts
