'I knew it was going to be difficult' - Brand on rebuilding form after broken hand
'If you don't play a significant role at all, it's very wei♈rd and difficult' says former World Champion
Lucinda Brand is slowly rebu🅘ilding her form after recovering from a broken hand sustained in a crash ahead of the Tabor World Cup in October.
The former World Champion has returned to racing this month with her best finish in fourth place at the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:World Cup in Overijse, but she aims to improve her form and💮 performanc💟e as the season progresses.
"I knew it was going to be difficult, but if you don't play a significant role at all, it's very weird and difficult," Brand said in an interview with regarding the Dutch round of the World Cup Beekse Bergen oꦺn November 13 where she finished seventh.
Brand stood on the podium at the opening World Cup rounds in Waterloo and Fayetteville; however, she 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:broke a metacarpal, one of the bones between the fingers and wrist, during the pre-ride of the course for the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tabor round of the UCI Cyclocross💃 World💮 Cup on October 23.
She underwent surgery the next day in Belgium and was fitte😼d with a cast.
She was forced to skip her title defense at the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:UEC Cyclo-cross European Cham൲pionships, won by her Dutch compatriot Fem van Empel.
Although Brand returned to compete at the Beekse Bergen World Cup, she c🉐ould only manage seventh place and was unable to contest the race with podium finishers Shirin van Anro🅷oij, Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse.
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“It really felt like I wasn't taking part in the ꦏrace. I was cycling in no man's land all the time," Brand said.
She has gone on to improve her performanꦫce with two fourth-place finishes at Superprestige Merksplas and the World Cup in Overijse last weeke♏nd.
"I should be happy with that," Brand said. “This weekend was really much better.&꧒nbsp;Last week, I was really not feeling well.”
During her recovery, Brand said she spent much of her time training indoors, but she expects to rebuild her form quickly heading into the next꧋ part of the season.
“I was able to train a bit, but it was different. I trained for much less time, had to cycle a lot indoors and couldn't do cross🅷-training. That's all very different. I was able to complete good training sessions, which I normally will benefit from within a few weeks. At least, I hope so," Brand said.
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirs💮ten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassro🌳ots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – ove🤪rseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.