In those fifty races she was the best 22 times, finished second 21 times and third seven times. The last time Brand did not finish on the podium in a cross in which she started was on January 21, 2024 in Benidorm. Her compatriot Fem van Empel, the world champion who was also absent from Hamme for physical reasons, won there.
The competition in Hamme was for the X2O Trophy. Brand, who won the Superprestigecross of Merksplas on Saturday, is in the lead in that classification.
Brand had the most to contend with with compatriot Inge van der Heijden on the particularly slippery course in Hamme. But the European champion was unable to close the gap to Brand, who started his solo early. Aniek van Alphen finished third behind Van der Heijden.
Brand previously said that he was “not really into statistics”. Afterwards she seemed happier with her third victory in a row – she already won in Niel on Tuesday – than with her fiftieth podium finish. “That is now over. I could not escape it in recent weeks,” she said in the flash interview. “We will never find it normal at home, of course, but I like the fact that I can now focus on competitions again.”
She pulled away from the competition almost from the start. “I actually had a good start once and under these circumstances it is nice to be in the lead straight away, so that you can discover the course. Three victories in a row, I am really happy with that.”