🚵🇧🇪 | Als Fem van Empel aan de start staat, wint ze ook dit seizoen! De wereldkampioene start voor de elfde keer en wint voor de elfde keer. Lucinda Brand wordt tweede en Puck Pieterse derde. #cyclocross #Antwerpen 📺 Veldrijden kijk je live op discovery+
"Mindfuck" according to Van Empel, Brand wants to "keep her collarbone intact": what's the deal with those beams?
Cyclo-crossSunday, 24 December 2023 at 10:45
Lucinda Brand was trailing Fem van Empel by 18 seconds during the World Cup in Antwerp. Spread out over six rounds, that comes down to three seconds per round - which is precisely the time Brand lost by not jumping over the beams, unlike Van Empel. The main characters discussed this with IDLProCycling.com after the race.
After the race, Brand acknowledged that the beams could indeed have made the difference in Antwerp, although she should certainly be congratulated for her second place. "Maybe I'm getting a little closer each time. This is a circuit where you always need some explosiveness, so it went well now. Normally, this course would suit Fem more, but I think we actually rode just as hard. The moment she had a gap, she could use the beams perfectly, which in my opinion made the difference," she summarized.
Van Empel confirmed her opponent's view, who - like last week in Herentals - certainly made things tough for her. "The obstacles just followed each other very quickly, but the beams were very favorably positioned on a straight stretch. I just tried to jump them and fortunately, it turned out well, but of course, it could have gone differently. Perhaps that made the biggest difference," said the Jumbo-Visma rider after the race.
"I think you could see that the gap remained the same and I made up for two seconds, but then there were those beams again. So we were riding at about the same pace, but that's where the difference was," explained Brand, who seemed to suggest that the difference between her and Van Empel was small. "I wish it was something minor, because then I would have mastered it quicker," she said with a smile.
Fire calls jumping over beams "strange sensation"
"The course designers obviously like it when you master such an obstacle, so they place it at a crucial point," says Brand. "I understand it from their perspective, but for me, it's a bit annoying. From a technical perspective, it's going very well, but I'm not getting high enough yet. I could try it here, but then you would have a great spectacle and I would have less of one. I need to stick to running for now."
Brand now lives in the Belgian woods to optimally prepare, but are those beams also part of her training? "I definitely practice them, but it's more a combination of technique and the mental aspect. When you ride towards it, it's a strange sensation: you think you can do it, but then at the last moment you're like, uhhh, maybe not..."
In the woods, she can easily jump over a few tree trunks, but according to Brand, that's something completely different. "Jumping over tree trunks I can do quite well, because it's quite different from a beam. I practice with those door clappers, which fall over if I touch them. I can adjust them to different heights, but the success rate isn't high enough yet to actually do it. Don't expect me to do that this season, I'd like to keep my collarbone intact."
Van Empel and De Knegt on difficulty of jumping over beams
Van Empel, who in the past didn't always jump, understands Brand. "I recognize that feeling of Lucinda's. Every time I approached, I was like: is this going to be okay? I hit them a few times, but now I've jumped five times and those are five practice runs. That's a nice bonus for all the other times," she observed.
"It's kind of a mindfuck, so to speak, when you drive towards it," she explains. "On the front, there are sponsors on it and on the back, it's just a black thick beam, so it looks higher than on television. Maybe it's just a mental thing, but you have to be able to maintain that height," says the lady who won all eleven of her races this season.
National coach Gerben de Knegt understands the struggles with the beams as well. "Jumping them can benefit you greatly, but it's true: if you learn it young, it's a lot easier. Lucinda started cyclo-cross at an older age, so she's not going to learn it as easily. But it is something you can learn, because Fem couldn't do it two years ago either," says the former cyclo-cross rider. "You just have to practice it a lot, but it's also a matter of ability. It should be like this: if you do it a thousand times, you might fall once."
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Latest Comments
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024
- This is not a gravel race. UCI fail, from the surface they are on to team tactics. In what country was the first "gravel race" in what country is the most popular gravel race? Go with the race model that created the discipline.
Barnes127411-10-2024 - And don't forget he has now won 4 of the big 10 races (Grand tours, Monuments and WC/OG) in one year with a chance to make that 5. (5 has only been done once before)Joostmehrtens05-10-2024