Lucinda Brand (Baloise-Glowi Lions) won the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup opener in Tábor, Czechia, on Sunday, outsprinting Sara Casasola (Crelan–Corendon) after dropping European champion Inge van der Heijden (Crelan–Corendon) on the final lap. The victory delivered Brand’s 51st consecutive World Cup podium, a run that equals the all-time mark long associated with Marianne Vos (Visma–Lease a Bike).
Brand, 36, recovered from a poor start to force her way into the lead trio on a fast, icy course, then repeatedly tested her companions before finally dislodging Van der Heijden in the closing lap. Casasola held firm to the line, but Brand opened the sprint early and sealed it, with Van der Heijden third at 13 seconds.
The milestone aligns Brand with Vos’s benchmark of consistency, set across multiple seasons at the height of the Dutch legend’s dominance. Brand’s own sequence spans three campaigns. After placing fourth at Benidorm in January 2024, she has not missed a World Cup podium since. Speaking about the run one week ago, when attention around the streak intensified, Brand said: “I’m not that into statistics, but this is very special. For some people it seems like a given, but it’s not."
Tábor lacked several headline rivals, including Fem van Empel (Visma–Lease a Bike) and Ceylin Alvarado (Alpecin–Deceuninck), which placed Brand as the clear favourite on form. Converting that status under pressure, and doing so with late-race control then a clean sprint against a resilient Casasola, only reinforced the durability that has defined her mid-thirties.
Brand leaves Tábor with the World Cup leader’s jersey and a shot at outright history. The next start offers the first opportunity to make it 52 consecutive wins and stand alone on a list where, until now, only one name has sat beside Vos.
Cover picture credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
