By contrast, Saturday’s Elite Women’s race is more difficult to handicap because the rider who has dominated the season, Lucinda Brand, had an inexplicably mediocre performance in last Saturday’s World Cup race at Maasmechelen, finishing tenth, and came out of the race with a calf injury, which forced her to miss the season’s final World Cup race on Sunday at Hoogerheide.
Van der Poel in a canter
Barring a calamitously bad day or a disastrous crash or sudden illness, there is no way that van der Poel (Alpecin–Premier Tech) can lose the race. It’s a difficult and very technical course, with lots of ups and downs, that rewards sustained effort; in other words, it suits him like a custom-tailored Armani suit. And his victory last weekend at Maasmechelen, after sustaining two punctures, underlined his superiority over his rivals. As legend Sven Nys put it before Van der Poel tied and then, on Sunday, broke his record for World Cup victories, “He is the greatest cyclo-cross rider who has ever raced.” ‘Nuff said.
The only suspense in the race should be if Alpecin–Premier Tech can again sweep the podium places, as they did with Tibor del Grosso and Niels Vandeputte in both races last weekend, or if Sven’s son Thibau Nys (Baloise Verzekeringen–Het Poetsbureau Lions ) can finally ride a race not strewn with errors of judgment and commission and finish second. But even if he manages to ride a flawless race, which is far from certain on such a technical course, can he beat del Grosso, who is technically superb and in fine form? These two young riders will almost certainly dominate the sport once van der Poel has left it, so we might witness another preview of things to come.
We might also be witnessing van der Poel’s final cyclo-cross race. In an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws, he was asked if this could be his final cyclo-cross race. “I still like to ‘cross, but you also have to think about other options,” he replied. “And it has to end someday, right? I always hoped to stop on a high… Riding only the World Championships is also a possibility. We’ll see.”
And if he doesn’t win Sunday and break the record? “Then I’ll continue anyway,” he said. “Now that I’m so close to that record, it’s a goal.”
Brand or Pieterse or…?
Brand (Baloise Verzekeringen–Het Poetsbureau Lions) had won 13 races in a row when she began losing her form. She finished second to Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix–Premier Tech) at the Zonhoven World Cup on January 4, after sliding out late in the snow. A week later, she finished third at the Dutch National Championships, beaten by Alvarado and another Fenix–Premier Tech rider, Puck Pieterse, before her disappointment in Maasmechelen. That 10th-place finish ended a run of 63 consecutive podium finishes for Brand.
Normally, this course would suit her power and stamina, and if the race had been held a month ago, she would have been almost as big a favourite as van der Poel. But her slump has allowed both Alvarado and Pieterse to thrive and, more importantly, grow in confidence. They are both very good technical riders, with Pieterse a bit stronger on climbs, though prone to careless errors, while Alvarado makes fewer mistakes. Both are excellent technical riders.
Others to consider for at least a podium spot are the consistent Amandine Fouquenet (Pauwels Sauzen–Altez Industriebouw), who has had an impressive season but tends to start too fast and then tire at the end; the surprising young Czech Kristýna Zemanová, who finished second at Hoogerheide last Sunday and has been improving every week; the young Spaniard Sarah Casasola (Crelan-Corendon), who looked very strong at Hoogerheide before crashing in the penultimate lap; as well as the improving Zoe Bäckstedt (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) and the always game Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise Verzekeringen–Het Poetsbureau Lions). Unlike the men’s race, this is not a foregone conclusion.
