Cyclo-cross World Cup Zonhoven: Pieterse wins comfortably as Brand crashes out

Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) won the CX World Cup in Zonhoven with relative ease on Sunday afternoon, after Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) crashed out of the contest with what looked like a broken nose.

Behind Pieterse, Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) produced a career-best World Cup performance to snatch second, whilst the ever-impressive Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM) rounded out the podium in third place.

The race for the victory was always going to be wide open, with both Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike) and World Cup leader Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck) absent from the start. The former has been nigh-on unstoppable for much of the campaign, whilst Alvarado's absence with back pain allowed Brand the opportunity to close the gap in the standings.

There remained big names in attendance, with Brand and Pieterse the most successful thus far in the 2023/24 campaign, and Saturday's Hexia cyclo-cross winner Bäckstedt keen to avenge a first-lap fall in this course last season.

All three riders produced notable rides, but both Brand and Pieterse suffered their misfortunes. Pieterse got off to a flyer prior to a rear puncture, before Brand capitalised and was ultimately brought to a halt by a nasty crash. With Brand in the care of the medical professionals, Pieterse produced a professional performance to take her fourth victory of the season.

Zonhoven is one of the most iconic races on the calendar, with frightening descents and technical sand pits offering a challenging course for all involved. Formerly of the Superprestige series, Zonhoven provided a fitting location for the 12th round of this season's CX World Cup.

"A bit of luck and a bit of bad luck, I think. After the first uphill at the start I had already a rear back flat, so I tried to stay in front," reflected Pieterse after the finish. "That took a bit of energy out of me and then Lucinda had a gap of 20 seconds or something and I put a lot of energy, of course, into first passing everyone and making chase."

"Suddenly, I saw Lucinda standing still in a corner and I thought she had a mechanical or something, but a few corners later I could see that she wasn't there anymore. A bit of luck for me, of course, but I hope everything is fine with Lucinda!"

Puncture for Pieterse benefits Bäckstedt and Brand

Marie Schreiber of SD Worx took the hole shot with Annemarie Worst and Zoe Bäckstedt quick on her heels, as sand experts Laura Verdonschot (De Ceuster Bonache) and Sanne Cant (Crelan-Corendon) lurked in the background ready to demonstrate their skills.

The first feature of the course was the steep sand descent and to little surprise, an aggressive Puck Pieterse led the pack with a burst of acceleration. However, the Dutch national champion would soon suffer misfortune with a rear-wheel flat. Ahead of the race, Bäckstedt had discussed the concrete at the bottom of the first sandy drop, which may have been the cause of Pieterse's puncture.

Luckily for the Fenix-Deceuninck rider, the pit area offered salvation just moments later and so whilst she lost plenty of places with her bike change, it was not completely disastrous.

Sensing a moment of panic from Pieterse, former world champion Lucinda Brand saw her time to strike, and the Baloise Trek Lions rider hit out with an attack that blew all riders off her wheel. Behind the Dutchwoman, Bäckstedt and Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) refused to throw in the towel and got to work on the chase.

The gap between the race leader and her chasers at the end of the first lap was 12 seconds, with Pieterse a second or two in arrears.

With clean air in front of her, Brand was able to demonstrate her improved skills in the sand, which has come as a result of training sessions with Baloise Trek Lions leader and cyclo-cross legend, Sven Nys. Her race was a lonely one for the time being, as Bäckstedt, Pieterse and Van der Heijden tested one another behind.

Brand forced to retire after heavy crash

Brand's second lap was the fastest of the race up to that point and her efforts had resulted in a 20-second gap to Bäckstedt and Pieterse behind, with Verdonschot flailing a little in the rearview mirror. Pieterse's revenge tour put the pressure on the Canyon-SRAM rider and the Dutch champion was soon alone in pursuit of Brand.

Midway through the third lap, however, Brand went down in heavy fashion as her front wheel washed out. The race leader took a few moments to herself after getting back to her feet and looked in real pain, with the replay of her crash revealing that Brand landed on her face. In turn, a teary-eyed Brand retired from the course and appeared to have suffered a broken nose.

With Brand out of action, Pieterse was the new leader on the course and looked in as comfortable a situation as Brand had just moments earlier. But as evidenced by Brand's tumble, there is no such thing as a procession in cyclo-cross.

Into the fourth lap, Van der Heijden and Bäckstedt trailed Pieterse by 8 and 18 seconds, respectively. This had extended to 14 and 23 seconds, respectively, as the front three entered the penultimate lap, despite a momentary mistake from Pieterse in the sand that had led her to a standstill.

Meanwhile, the race for fourth behind produced thrilling racing between Annemarie Worst (Cyclocross Reds), Kristýna Zemanová (Brilon Racing Team MB), Verdonschot and Leonie Bentveld (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal).

It was Worst who came out trumps from this battle, whilst the front three remained as was throughout the final two laps. Pieterse had plenty of time to sit up and celebrate on the final straight as she continued her remarkable run of form.