Brand: I'm ready to fight for the world title
Lucinda Brand is one of the favourites to win the elite women’s world title on Saturday in what is expected to be one of the most exciting races of the 2019 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. The Dutch team is the strongest it’s been in recent years, with the likes of Marianne Vos, Annemarie Worst, and Denise Betsema all contenders for the rainbow jersey, and Brand says they're travelling to Denmark with nothing but good vibes.
"The Dutch have a really strong team that is going to the World Championships, and in a lot of categories, too," Brand told Cyclingnews.
"I think we have always had good riders in cyclo-cross in previous years but, with the women's team at the moment, the talent is really wide and at a high level in the Netherlands. There are more riders who can win a race."
Brand has been one of the nation's top performers this year, ranked third in the world after World Cup victories in Hoogerheide, Namur and Tabor. She also won the Dutch Championships, Druivencross and Azencross. She place third at the Worlds last year behind Sanne Cant and Katie Compton. She had expressed her goals for the Bogense Worlds following her road season.
Vos, a seven-time world champion of cyclo-cross, has returned to top form after struggling with injuries and overtraining in recent years. She is currently second in the world rankings and she won the World Cup series after taking victories in Pont-Château, Heusden-Zolder, Bern and Waterloo.
The women's team also includes Worst and Betsema who are ranked fourth and fifth in the world, respectively, along with Maud Kaptheijns. Worst has stood on the podium at four World Cups this season. The Dutch also have the favourite for the elite men's race with Mathieu van der Poel and a strong contender for the under-23 women's race in Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado.
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