Lucinda Brand has reached a remarkable 50 consecutive podium finishes – two more, and she will pull ahead of compatriot Marianne Vos.
Cor Vos
Lucinda Brand’s 2024-25 season was a remarkable one for a very particular reason. It was not her most successful – that would be ’21-22, when she was victorious on 20 of 33 race days, most of them in the rainbow bands – but it was her most consistent, with 33 podium finishes in 33 races, which made for a sweep of 41 podiums.
So far this season (’25-26), the 36-year-old has made nine appearances and finished in the top two every time, only beaten on two occasions by Sara Casasola (Superprestige Overijse) and Inge van der Heijden (European Champs). With victories at Merksplas and Hamme this weekend, Brand has made it to an impressive 50 consecutive podium finishes.
“I’m not that into statistics, but this is very special,” Brand said after her win at ‘Strawberrycross’ Merksplas on Saturday. “For some people it seems a matter of course, but it’s not. I’m very happy with it.”
It’s poetic, really; this run of visits to the podium began where it culminated at the Hamme Flandriencross where Brand finished second to Fem van Empel in January 2024, one week after finishing fourth at UCI World Cup Benidorm, itself two weeks after the last DNF logged by the Dutch powerhouse.
This bumper gallery will celebrate the remarkable consistency of a veteran hero.
Brand on her way to second at Flandriencross 2024; a week earlier, she hung her head in disappointment at finishing the Benidorm World Cup round just off the podium in fourth.
The podium streak is not the most obvious accolade, but it’s well worth celebrating as a mark of not just talent but dogged determination. And it’s pretty rare, especially – let’s face it – in the twilight years of a professional sporting career. Anyone else with such a run on their records got it done early, when they were but whippersnappers causing trouble for the old hands, but Brand started hers at the age of 34.
Brand on her way to a 50th consecutive podium finish at Hamme Flandriencross this Sunday.
Other riders who have achieved such a feat include, you’ll not be surprised, Marianne Vos and Mathieu van der Poel.
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