Lucinda Brand came to the start line of the 2022 Cyclocross World Championships as the defending champ. Marianne Vos was not far from where she stood, her compatriot and closest threat to keeping the rainbow jersey.
The pair of Vos and Brand would do battle over the 55-minute race, throwing punches (metaphorically) when they could and hanging on for blistering attacks. In the end, Vos unleashed a well-timed sprint and captured the jersey and a record eighth World Championship title.
Lucinda Brand had a tremendous season, winning the World Cup overall, the European Championships, never losing a race in the Super Prestige or X2O Trophy series. She was an unstoppable force, no matter what the conditions. Lucindas’ success comes from hard work, determination, and a tightknit support team.
The Bike
Brands’ weapon of choice for the 2021-2022 season is the newly updated Trek Boone. Her bike shares part of that success; finely tuned, every detail pored over and perfectly torqued in place. The team at Trek revisited the tube shapes, ISO Speed decoupler, and tire clearance to make this bike even more of a race rocket.
Upon chatting with the team from Baloise Trek Lions, we learn some incredible custom details about Lucindas’ bike that may lead to future production tweaks for the next year’s Boone. For the Baloise Trek Lions team (and other factory athletes), they have the option to run a different offset fork than one that comes standard on the Trek Boone.
The different rake fork is only an option for sizes 52cm and down. The new 50mm offset fork (differing from the 45mm spec) gives the bike better handling at speed and helps the front end stay stable in twisty high-speed steering features.
The attempt is to get the bike to feel as neutral as possible and have a little “fighting against the rider.” This neutrality helps especially for super sandy and muddy tracks, allowing the rider to stay in the center of the bike and giving the bike freedom to move when needed.
The 50mm offset helps also helps with toe overlap but allows for a solid front center groove better for slower speed steering.
As for components; the Baloise Trek Lions goes with full SRAM Red 12 speed eTap builds for everyone on the team. For Saturday’s World Championship race, Lucinda ran a 38T front chainring on her SRAM Red crankset and a 10-33T SRAM Force cassette.
The wheels are Bontrager’s newest (and only) carbon tubular race wheel — Aeolus RSL 37. Some of the riders for Baloise Trek Lions are on Challenge and others on Dugast. Lucinda raced on Dugast 32mm Typhoon tires; our photo bike has a Rhinos — possibly just for cleaning.
Fun fact — 13 of the 18 medals in the 2022 World Championships were won on Dugast Typhoon tires!
The Baloise Trek Lions Team can choose from many Bontrager saddles; Lucina opts for the Bontrager Aeolus (a super narrow looking one — possibly a 135mm size that’s not yet available to the public). We’re guessing this is the same saddle on her road setup with Trek-Segafredo. It’s an excellent saddle for easy hip movement and delivers a powerful locked-in position on the bike.
The cock-pit for Lucinda Brands Trek Boone is relatively neutral. She runs a 400mm Bontrager Pro IsoCore carbon bar. The IsoCore offers some extra padding and a relatively short and shallow reach, pair that with the SRAM Red Etap levers, and this is a sharp steering machine.
Lucinda has a custom European Champion Bontrager Blendr mount on her Bontrager XXX carbon stem. If you look closely at the IsoSpeed seat mast, you’ll notice an extra lightweight collar. This updated mast was developed for the super lightweight Trek Emonda but found its way over to the ‘cross teams looking for some weight reduction.
Details — Lucinda Brands’ Trek Boone with custom fork offset
Frame: 600 Series OCLV Carbon, IsoSpeed rear, 3S chain keeper, T47 Bottom bracket
Fork: Trek all-carbon, 12mm thru-axle, 50mm custom offset
Shift/Brake Levers: SRAM Red eTap AXS Shift-Brake Levers
Brake Calipers: SRAM Red eTap AXS, flat mount
Brake Rotors: SRAM Centerline, 140mm
Crankset: SRAM Red 170mm
Chain Ring: SRAM X-Sync 2, 38t
Rear Derailleur: SRAM Red eTap AXS
Cassette: SRAM Force, 10-33t, 12-speed
Wheels: Bontrager Aeolus RSL 37 carbon tubulars
Tires: Dugast Typhoon tubulars, 700c x 32mm
Handlebar: Bontrager Pro IsoCore carbon VR-CF, 400mm
Stem: Bontrager XXX Carbon Blendr with Custom European Champion Flag
Seat Mast Cap: Trek Round Ultra-light Carbon Seat Mast Cap & 10mm Ears
Saddle: Bontrager Aeolus Pro with carbon rails
Pedals: Shimano XTR M9100 SPD
More Info: trekbikes.com
