Championship racing returned to Zeddam, Netherlands, on Saturday, November 7, for the Elite Women at the 2026 UEC Cyclo-cross European Championships. The women raced on Saturday, while the men raced the same course on Sunday.
Zeddam hosted the 2006 World Championships, where Erwin Vervecken won his second world title and Marianne Vos won her first. Vervecken designed the course used this weekend, which brings back the long staircase of about 100 steps, and championship racing is back in Zeddam after 20 years. The Elite Women raced 21.35 kilometers in cloudy conditions. Across the Atlantic, the same day brought the Pan-American Championships in Washington, DC.
Elite Women’s Race
Lucinda Brand gave the home crowd the result it came for, taking the European title in 51:37. Marie Schreiber of Luxembourg pushed her all the way to the line and was credited with the same finishing time, actually crossing the line first.
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado made it two Dutch riders on the podium in third, 17 seconds back. Brand also recorded the fastest lap of the race at 7:06.
The finish, though, was settled in the jury room rather than on the line. Schreiber reached the finish first at the end of a two-rider sprint with Brand, a sprint set up when Alvarado crashed out of the lead group on the final lap. In the closing metres Schreiber drifted off her line as Brand moved to come past, and after a long review of the footage the commissaires relegated the Luxembourg rider to second place, which handed the European title to Brand. Brand had filed no protest, and said afterward that she did not think she would have come around Schreiber in any case. Schreiber did not attend the podium ceremony. Belgian reports later said the decision rested with the president of the commissaires panel, Ernesto Maggioni, and that neither the Dutch commissaires nor Brand were consulted. Luxembourg’s cycling federation has since lodged a formal complaint with the UEC asking for the result to be overturned.
The home nation filled five of the first six places. Behind Alvarado, Inge van der Heijden finished fourth at 57 seconds, Denise Betsema was fifth at one minute, and Manon Bakker took sixth, two seconds behind Betsema. Kristýna Zemanová of the Czech Republic was seventh, and Hélène Clauzel of France led a three-rider group on the same time in eighth, ahead of Aniek van Alphen and Lucia Bramati. Former champion Fem van Empel finished 13th, 2:02 behind Brand.
Watch the highlights and the sprint:
2026 European Championships Elite Women’s Results
| Place | Bib | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Lucinda Brand | 51:37 | |
| 2 | 26 | Marie Schreiber | 51:37 | |
| 3 | 2 | Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado | 51:54 | |
| 4 | 7 | Inge van der Heijden | 52:34 | |
| 5 | 5 | Denise Betsema | 52:37 | |
| 6 | 3 | Manon Bakker | 52:39 | |
| 7 | 20 | Kristýna Zemanová | 52:53 | |
| 8 | 13 | Hélène Clauzel | 52:57 | |
| 9 | 6 | Aniek van Alphen | 52:57 | |
| 10 | 10 | Lucia Bramati | 52:57 | |
| 11 | 4 | Leonie Bentveld | 53:05 | |
| 12 | 15 | Amandine Fouquenet | 53:31 | |
| 13 | 8 | Fem van Empel | 53:39 | |
| 14 | 11 | Sara Casasola | 53:41 | |
| 15 | 9 | Carlotta Borello | 53:48 | |
| 16 | 28 | Ana Santos | 53:49 | |
| 17 | 16 | Julie Brouwers | 54:15 | |
| 18 | 12 | Rebecca Gariboldi | 54:25 | |
| 19 | 14 | Lauriane Duraffourg | 54:40 | |
| 20 | 17 | Alicia Franck | 54:55 | |
| 21 | 22 | Sofia Rodriguez Revert | 55:03 | |
| 22 | 19 | Kateřina Hladíková | 55:07 | |
| 23 | 25 | Judith Krahl | 55:43 | |
| 24 | 18 | Sterre Vervloet | 56:01 | |
| 25 | 21 | Lucia Gonzalez Blanco | 56:13 | |
| 26 | 23 | Xan Crees | 56:27 | |
| 27 | 24 | Ann-Christine Allik | -2 LAP | |
| DNF | 27 | Oda Laforce | DNF |
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