Brand is finally great again, and that's a blessing for everyone: "My boyfriend was so fed up with me"

Since Van Empel was never far behind, the race remained tense until the end. "Fem kept putting on a lot of pressure," Brand shared in the flash interview. "That made me have to keep up a really good pace after my acceleration." The race didn’t start exactly as planned: after issues at the start, the Dutch champion had to close a gap. "I completely missed my pedal at the start, and the first section here is very short, so I immediately ended up too far back. Then we had to run on the first climb. That created a gap, but luckily, I was just behind the gap, so I could ride at my own pace afterward."

Since the lead group hesitated a bit, she managed to catch up after a little more than one lap. "I had secretly hoped they would keep a slightly higher pace because Alvarado was also held up, running on that climb at the beginning. That didn’t happen. A tough race suits me better, so I thought, let’s see what happens if I go hard up the climb — and that was a good attack right away." In the second lap, the 35-year-old Brand made her decisive move.

Once solo, she seemed to pull away fairly easily, but a fall almost spoiled the show. "It was a good point to see how far ahead you are. I saw they were a bit closer, but then you immediately lose concentration. Luckily, I was able to catch myself and continue quickly. If you fall there, it’s rough on that gravel." A second consecutive win, after the Night of Woerden earlier this month. Is Brand now at her best level ever? "It’s hard to compare years. I’ve often felt good on the bike, but this definitely matches some of the best moments of my career, and it’s nice that I can still reach this level."

It was about time for a cyclocross season to start without setbacks. The last two years, Brand dealt with injuries from her road campaign, leaving her constantly playing catch-up in cyclocross. Now things are completely different. "Last year, I wasn’t even competing at this time, so I’m happy that I got through the road season unscathed this year. Because of that, I was able to continue building immediately, and it’s working out well, though I hope this isn’t my peak form yet. It would be hard to maintain, but I can’t deny I’m in great shape."

She also keeps in mind that others may make progress as well this winter. "But I know that I reached a very high level during the road cycling season, and that’s something you carry into the cyclocross season if you stay fit. I should be able to improve since I’ve been training hard over the past weeks. You can’t do that throughout the entire cyclocross season, so we’ll look for more training opportunities."

Not only is it a relief for Brand and the Baloise Trek Lions to have her fully back, but the physical setbacks over the past winters also weren’t easy on those at home. Brand laughs when addressing this. "How cheerful I am — well, you’d have to ask my boyfriend. But I think he can tolerate me better than last year around this time. Back then, he was so fed up with me, I am sure of that. In the end, you’re always pushing yourself to the limit, whether you’re doing well or not. So you’re always tired when you’re at home."