Lucinda Brand put in a powerful performance to secure victory in the women’s race at the Superprestige Overijse. Brand didn’t have the ideal start, missing her pedal entirely at the line, and was forced to dismount on the first climb, instantly finding herself chasing. The Dutch champion, however, swiftly recovered, picking off her competitors and joining the leading trio of Fem van Empel, Sara Casasola, and Helene Clauzel by the second lap.
“I completely missed my start – I couldn’t get into my pedals,” Brand said. “I also had to run on the first climb, so I had a lot of ground to make up, but I tried to do it at my own pace.”
With former world champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado suffering an even worse start, Brand and Van Empel held off the chase, maintaining pressure on the group. Brand took the initiative early in the third lap, attacking hard and establishing a five-second lead with Casasola as her only companion. Van Empel quickly sought to bridge but soon found herself chasing Brand alone, as the Dutchwoman dropped Casasola on the muddy climbs by the fourth lap.
Despite a scare when she slipped out on a tricky carousel section in the penultimate lap, Brand stayed composed, conceding only a second before digging in to extend her lead. Van Empel mounted one last push, distancing Casasola to cut Brand’s advantage to just five seconds, but Brand’s technical finesse on the final lap proved decisive as she pulled away, crossing the finish nine seconds clear. Casasola completed the podium, followed by Alvarado in fourth, with Brand moving to the top of the Superprestige standings.
2024 Women’s Superprestige Overijse result
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Photo Credit: GettyIn the men’s race, Thibau Nys took his first victory of the season after a tense duel with Eli Iserbyt. The two Belgians were closely matched throughout the final laps, but Nys gradually pulled ahead, demonstrating his strength on Overijse’s demanding technical sections.
The action began on the third lap, where Nys encountered a mechanical issue that forced him to stop after hitting a wooden post. Unfazed, he rejoined the lead group within a lap, just as Michael Vanthourenhout launched a solo attack. Nys promptly upped the pace, pulling the group back together by the fifth lap, with Iserbyt, Vanthourenhout, and Lars van der Haar among the frontrunners.
The race took shape in the sixth lap, where Nys and Iserbyt broke clear of the chase. Nys took advantage on the muddy inclines, seizing a small lead through the wooded sections, while Iserbyt chased hard. As the two riders approached the final corners, Nys held firm, leveraging his handling skills to maintain a narrow margin. He crossed the finish line just ahead, his elation clear as he celebrated a win that had been hard-fought. Iserbyt came in close behind, with Van der Haar completing the podium four seconds back.
This victory marked an important moment in Nys’s season, especially following a disrupted start due to illness. Reflecting on his performance, Nys shared, “I still need to wake up because I am living a dream for the moment. People don’t realise how difficult the last two weeks have been.”
Niels Vandeputte and Joran Wyseure rounded out the top five, with Wyseure holding onto the overall Superprestige lead, tied with Vandeputte at 26 points but keeping top position due to his win in Ruddervoorde.
2024 Men’s Superprestige Overijse result
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