Lucinda Brand (Baloise Verzekeringen - Het Poetsbureau Lions), the reigning cyclocross world champion, will begin her 2026 road season at Strade Bianche Donne on March 7, with team manager Sven Nys confirming that she has already shifted her training toward the 131km Tuscan classic.
Nys made the comments to Belgian broadcaster Sporza after Brand won the Waaslandcross in Sint-Niklaas on February 14, her 20th victory of the cyclocross season. The road debut is now three weeks away.
Despite still racing a full cross programme, Brand has been completing five- to six-hour endurance rides during the week, building the aerobic base required for a race of Strade Bianche's length and demands. "That will also weigh on the end of a long cross season," Nys said of the endurance rides.
After her win in Sint-Niklaas, Brand said she had felt the fatigue from the outset. "I quickly noticed that I wasn't fresh and didn't have the best legs," she told Sporza. She described her "tank" as "a bit empty" after a long winter campaign and added road training.
Brand won by closing a gap on Marion Norbert Riberolle (Crelan-Corendon) and controlling the race in the final laps.
What awaits in Tuscany
The 2026 Strade Bianche Donne is 5km shorter than the 2025 edition, with two gravel sectors removed from the route. The race still includes 11 gravel sectors, the double loop of Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe, and the steep final climb up Via Santa Caterina into Siena's Piazza del Campo.
Brand is expected to race against defending champion Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), two-time winner Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) and multi-discipline rival Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike).
Brand comes into the gravel-heavy race after a full winter of cyclocross rather than a traditional road preparation block.
Cover image credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
