Lucinda Brand wins 2026 European cyclocross title after Marie Schreiber relegated in Zeddam

Lucinda Brand was crowned European cyclocross champion in Zeddam after Marie Schreiber, who crossed the line first in a photo finish, was relegated to second for deviating from her line during the sprint.

The world champion and Schreiber were given the same finishing time of 51:37 after seven laps, with Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado third at 17 seconds following a crash on the final lap. Defending champion Inge van der Heijden finished fourth at 57 seconds.

It was Brand’s second elite European title, five years after her first in 2021, but the manner of the victory was unlike anything in her previous championship wins. For most of the afternoon, Schreiber had been the rider forcing the Netherlands to chase.

Schreiber blows the race apart immediately

The elite women’s race began with the Dutch team carrying overwhelming numerical strength, but Schreiber immediately disrupted any plan to control the race as a block.

The Luxembourg champion made an explosive start and opened a clear advantage on the first lap. Alvarado reacted quickest for the Netherlands and set off alone in pursuit, while Brand initially sat further back in a chasing group.

After the opening lap Schreiber led Alvarado by 13 seconds, with Brand’s group around 21 seconds down. That forced the world champion to begin chasing earlier than she might have expected.

Brand bridged to Alvarado during the second lap and the pair began reducing Schreiber’s advantage. Their cooperation was not always smooth, and Brand even tried to distance Alvarado before suffering a fall of her own.

Alvarado eventually reached Schreiber first. Brand completed the catch at the beginning of lap four, leaving the medal race concentrated around three riders.

Brand increases the pressure but cannot shake Schreiber

The leading trio remained together through the middle of the race. Brand began to apply more sustained pressure on the penultimate lap, repeatedly creating a few metres over Alvarado without ever making the separation permanent.

Schreiber continued to look particularly strong on the defining feature of the Zeddam course, the staircase of 99 steps. She was repeatedly able to move through that section faster than the Dutch pair and start the following technical passage from the front.

The three began the final lap together. Schreiber attacked again on the stairs and opened a small gap, but Brand closed it. Alvarado also regained contact, restoring the three-way fight for gold.

Then Alvarado crashed in a right-hand corner. She was able to continue and still secured bronze, but the fall ended her chance of reaching the sprint with the leading pair. She later went to hospital for checks on a painful hand.

Schreiber crosses first but jury reverses the result

Schreiber led into the final straight and launched the sprint from distance. Brand came alongside as the line approached, with the two riders separated by almost nothing at the finish.

Schreiber crossed first, but there was no immediate celebration from either rider. The jury reviewed the sprint after Schreiber moved across the road while Brand was attempting to pass alongside the barriers.

After a lengthy deliberation, officials ruled that Schreiber had deviated from her line and relegated her to second. Brand was promoted to European champion.

The decision created an unusual aftermath. Schreiber did not attend the medal ceremony, while Brand acknowledged that the title felt different from one won by crossing the line first.

Brand adds European jersey to rainbow stripes

The final result gives Brand both the world and European titles in the same season and restores the continental jersey she previously won in 2021.

It also continues the Netherlands’ remarkable hold on the elite women’s championship. Dutch riders have now won every edition since 2018, although Schreiber came within centimetres and a jury decision of ending that sequence.

Van der Heijden finished fourth at 57 seconds, one minute behind the winner, with Denise Betsema fifth and Manon Bakker sixth. Kristýna Zemanová was the highest non-Dutch rider after Schreiber in seventh, ahead of Hélène Clauzel, Aniek van Alphen and Lucia Bramati.

The race therefore produced two very different stories. Brand leaves Zeddam with another major title, while Schreiber showed she could take the strongest Dutch field to the limit on home soil and was only denied the jersey after the sprint had already finished.

European Cyclocross Championships elite women 2026 result