An unusual new course delivers at World Cup Terralba

World Cup round three wins went to Lucinda Brand and Michael Vanthourenhout at Terralba, Sardinia.

Cor Vos

The number of riders who made the trip to Sardinia for the third round of the World Cup was small compared to its equivalents on the European mainland, but a year after weather chaos wrote off the island’s first attempt, the brand new course in the fishing village of Marceddì, near Terralba, drew a competitive field and some truly thrilling racing.

That said, the women’s race went as most would expect, albeit with the seed of doubt after Lucinda Brand’s week-or-so away from the circuit. But once the Dutch veteran had powered clear in the second lap, the race for second pitched World Cup leader Aniek van Alphen against a resurgent Shirin van Anrooij, as Sara Casasola sought a result on Italian soil. While the elite women’s field awaits the arrival of Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse – and the return of Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado who did not finish Sunday’s race due to illness – the same names continue to demonstrate a season-defining strength that will hopefully continue into the ‘kerstperiode’ and beyond.

As for Brand, this result marks the 50th World Cup podium of her career, but more significantly, she has now moved past Marianne Vos with 52 consecutive podiums – and counting.

A celebration of consistency: Lucinda Brand is closing in on the GOAT

Lucinda Brand has reached a remarkable 50 consecutive podium finishes – two more, and she will pull ahead of compatriot Marianne Vos.

Over on the men’s side, the World Cup entered its third weekend without any of the podium finishers from last weekend’s Flamanville round as series leader Thibau Nys, Lars van der Haar and Cameron Mason, among others, opted for training over racing. In their absence, sand specialist Laurens Sweeck was primed to make his mark and potentially take over the World Cup lead, but it was a huge opportunity for everyone on the start line, not least as next weekend sees the arrival of world champion Mathieu van der Poel, with Wout van Aert joining the fray a week later.

The nine-lap seaside race was fast and furious from the start, and though over 20 of the 35 starters quickly fell victim to the attritional pace, about a dozen riders stayed in contact until the closing laps. Joris Nieuwenhuis, Michael Vanthourenhout, Laurens Sweeck and Pim Ronhaar were most active in the group, but it appeared to be anyone’s race until the group finally slimmed down to five, then three, late in the last lap. Sweeck tried to get himself into position for the run-in, but Vanthourenhout played it perfectly to lead off the sand and onto the road, then kept the pressure on all the way to the line.

It was a breathless afternoon of racing for all involved, and a worthy debut (at long last) for the Sardinian World Cup.

The Marceddì lagoon is exemplary of Sardinia’s wetlands, the whole island representing a hotbed of biodiversity and ecological research. The lagoon itself, home of this weekend’s cyclocross, is the object of ongoing practical research into nature-based solutions to climate change. It’s also a very popular spot for birdwatchers.Last year’s Sardinia course at Cabras was very exposed, and unfortunately extreme weather forced its cancellation. This year’s round was relocated to the southern end of the Gulf of Oristano, choosing a slightly more sheltered inlet. (Lucinda Brand pictured doing recon 24 hours before she expected to race last December.)Brand’s teammate Shirin van Anrooij during Saturday’s training on the almost perfectly flat Marceddì course, saturated with water after days of rain. The Terralba World Cup would be her third race of the season, having gone from 16th to 6th in her first two World Cup appearances. All smiles for the Pauwels Sauzen crew. Under-23 World Cup leader Leonie Bentveld – on a special-edition frame to commemorate her under-23 European title – pictured leading Michael Vanthourenhout during recon, the latter hoping to demonstrate his complete recovery after a heavy fall in Tábor.On race day, Brand had clearly turned up with great legs after skipping round two at Flamanville.Aniek van Alphen also brought great legs and renewed confidence with her to Sardinia, resplendent in the World Cup leader’s jersey a week after her first ever win at the top level.