Lucinda Brand continued her extraordinary World Cup run on the Sardinian coast, producing another display of perfectly measured pressure to win the third round in Terralba. The course, set between lagoon-side straights, sand sectors, deep puddles and the narrow streets of Marceddi, rewarded riders with sharp technical decisions and the ability to manage efforts through long drags. Brand again judged both to perfection, extending a streak that now reads nine wins from eleven starts and a record-breaking 52 consecutive podium finishes.
The opening lap was lively, with Julie Brouwers briefly taking the holeshot before being shuffled backwards. Aniek van Alphen, the World Cup leader after her Tábor fifth place and Flamanville victory, was quick to move forward, but Brand felt the conditions under her tyres and sensed the moment to take control. Less than halfway through the first lap, she was guiding a select group that included Leonie Bentveld and Sara Casasola. The pace stretched the race early, and the peloton shrank further when Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado withdrew unexpectedly. Sporza later reported that illness, rather than knee trouble, caused her to stop.
With Alvarado gone, Brand began to exploit every transition between firm and soft ground. A clean drive through the opening sand sector earned a telling gap, and she ended the lap nine seconds ahead of Shirin van Anrooij, with Van Alphen and Casasola doing what they could behind. By the third lap Brand was in a rhythm that only a handful can match. Her advantage hovered between 17 and 30 seconds as the course gradually tightened up, allowing her to attack the changes in terrain with confidence.
Behind her the contest for second built gradually. Van Anrooij, riding only her third cyclocross after two injury-affected years, showed she is close to rediscovering her old sharpness. She pressed Van Alphen on the technical parts, but Van Alphen’s better-timed accelerations in the final lap earned her breathing space and strengthened her grip on the overall standings.
Brand crossed the line alone, her demeanour calm rather than demonstrative, but the significance of breaking Marianne Vos’s long-standing podium streak was not lost on her. Van Alphen and Van Anrooij completed a Dutch top three, while Casasola settled for fourth on home soil after an uneven afternoon across the shifting surfaces.
Photo Credit: Getty2025 Terralba Women result
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Men’s race: tactical duels define a cagey contest on Sardinia’s hard ground
The men’s World Cup round in Terralba developed into a race of positioning and patience, shaped by the hard, fast ground that kept a large group together until deep into the closing stages. With several leading riders missing, including series leader Thibau Nys, Lars van der Haar and Cameron Mason, the opportunity for a reshuffled podium was evident. Even so, few expected a group of eleven still locked together after six laps.
Joris Nieuwenhuis set the tone by taking the holeshot and guiding the field through the early puddled corners, but Michael Vanthourenhout looked equally composed. The Pauwels Sauzen rider, returning to sharp form after a recent crash, matched every change of pace. As the race reached lap seven, Nieuwenhuis, Vanthourenhout, Laurens Sweeck and Pim Ronhaar were joined by a motivated collection of Alpecin, Crelan and Heizomat riders, with local favourite Filippo Agostunacchio adding emotion to the front group.
Sweeck recognised how difficult it would be to win from deep in the pack and repeatedly tried to take over the pace. Each time, elbows tightened and the group surged behind him. The constant fight for priority defined the race. When Ronhaar punctured at a pivotal moment, the door finally opened for the decisive trio of Nieuwenhuis, Vanthourenhout and Sweeck to move clear.
The winning move came on the final lap, where Vanthourenhout demonstrated the sharpest reading of the terrain. He positioned himself perfectly before the last sand sector, forcing his rivals into reactive lines. A clean remount at the church stairway created a small but crucial gap, and he carried that advantage onto the final unpaved drag to take his first World Cup win of the season. Nieuwenhuis finished just a second back, frustrated at being trapped into the less favourable line, while Sweeck acknowledged that a single moment of hesitation had undone an otherwise strong ride.
Despite skipping the round, Nys remains World Cup leader, though Sweeck has reduced the gap to four points, with Nieuwenhuis a single point further behind.
Photo Credit: Getty2025 Terralba Men result
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