Superprestige Overijse: Lucinda Brand takes commanding victory with powerful solo performance

Reigning world champion Lucinda Brand (Baloise Verzekeringen - Het Poetsbureau Lions) executed an almost flawless race to take victory in round one of the Telenet Superprestige Series in Overijse on Sunday.

Brand pulled clear of the rest of the field on lap 3 of 6 and never looked back, sealing her third victory of the season in confident style ahead of Aniek van Alphen (777TV CX Team) who put in a strong effort in the chase to limit the gap over the line to just 17 seconds. European champion Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) rounded out the podium, finishing third.

Speaking after the race, Brand said: "I'm really happy with this victory. I really like this course, and it was much drier than I expected today after all the rain, but I had good legs and it was enough for a nice victory."

How it unfolded

The first round of the Telenet Superprestige series saw a strong field take to a dry course in Overijse, with sunny, blustery conditions and relatively firm ground for the riders to contend with.

Riding in her first cross of the 2025-2026 season, it was the Frenchwoman Amandine Fouquenet (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw) who used her fast start to catapult herself to the front of the pack on lap 1, with European champion Van der Heijden close behind her. Brand was also able to stay with the leading riders, and with Denise Betsema also able to keep pace, a leading group of four crossed the line heading into lap 2 with a small advantage over the chasing riders. That group included last year’s overall winner of the Superprestige series Van Alphen, and yesterday’s Heerderstrand winner, Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Premier Tech).

Van Alphen was the first to be able to bridge to the group, catching them and moving straight to the front on lap 2. The group swelled to six strong with the addition of Czech national champion Kristyna Zemanová, with Van Alphen content to continue the pace-setting at the head of the lead group. Heading into lap 3, she pushed the pace, pulling clear of the rest with van der Heijden.

The group stretched out on lap 3 as Brand put in a dig to bridge to the leaders, with Fouquenet still in contention just behind her. Brand forged clear for the first time on lap 3, and from there she began to exert her authority, carving out an ever-increasing lead second by second as van Alphen and van der Heijden worked together behind her to try and keep her in sight.

Van Alphen looked increasingly secure in second place heading into lap 5, as she began to distance Van der Heijden, but at the front of the race there was no doubt as to the strongest rider. Brand remained error-free aside from one brief slip of the foot that she was able to retrieve, and the veteran maintained her cushion over the chasers heading into the final lap. Further back in the field, yesterday’s winner Alvarado was faring less well, potentially feeling the effort from that victory in the legs.

Brand remained clear to the finish line and had time to enjoy her victory, sitting up and waving as she crossed the line to record her third win in five races and taking the lead in the Superprestige overall standings.

Results

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