Brand holds off youngling Gery after sensational battle in Koppenbergcross, World Champ Van Empel abandons after 2 minutes

Lucinda Brand won the Koppenbergcross for women. The Dutch rider from Baloise Glowi Lions triumphed on the legendary cobbled hill after an incredible battle with the young Célia Gery. The Frenchwoman made it an exciting fight until the very end but had to settle for silver. Fem van Empel had abandon the race after just a few minutes, as she was feeling unwell.

Can it be said that the cross season has truly begun now? It might be a little disrespectful to the other early races, but the Koppenbergcross in Oudenaarde is truly a race with status. The famous cobbled climb strikes fear into riders, but the rest of the lap is also very challenging, with plenty of mud, slopes, and other difficult obstacles.

With Lucinda Brand and Fem van Empel - and without the injured Zoë Backstedt, two Dutch top favorites lined up at the start. The world champion started strongly and quickly took the lead, but after about two minutes, she lost several places. On the first passage of the technical lane, she quickly went in. A bike change? No, Van Empel retired. Shaking her head, she put on her jacket.

All eyes were on Brand, but she was facing competition from Sara Casasola and the young Célia Gery. The 19-year-old Frenchwoman became world champion on the road in Kigali and also showed fantastic skills in the cyclocross in Belgium. While the Italian dropped back, Gery was able to offer wonderful resistance to the veteran from Baloise Glowi Lions.

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In the first lap and a half, it was a back-and-forth between Brand and Gery. The young rider was able to showcase some incredible skills but struggled a bit on the descents. Here, the experienced Brand had the advantage. Moreover, the former world champion always managed to choose the right line: that's what experience can do for you!

Halfway through the second lap, Gery started to struggle a bit, and Brand made the difference in the descent. After the second pass of the finish line, Brand's lead was 14 seconds, while Casasola was fighting with Frenchwoman Hélène Clauzel for third place. Marion Norbert-Riberolle, who had been in great form earlier in the year, was struggling and crashed several times.

As a result, she was fighting at the back of the field. Her teammate Casasola seemed to have the upper hand in the battle for third, while up front, Brand appeared unstoppable. In the final lap, her lead over Gery was 20 seconds. However, Gery kicked into high gear and quickly closed the gap. On the sloped sections, she took all the risks to catch up.

The gap was closed in no time, setting up a thrilling finale in Oudenaarde. Brand noticed Gery closing in and responded with an acceleration of her own. Gery seemed to lose contact, and to make matters worse, a lapped rider got in her way. On the final pass of the Koppenberg, she was too far behind to catch Brand, who claimed a beautiful victory.