The Brammeiers have become minor celebrities in Belgium, where, if cycling is a religion, cyclo-cross is the denomination with the most fervent worshipers.

“Everyone here rides a bike,” Brammeier says. “People know where Matt and I live and we’ll get postcards, or people knocking at the door. That’s Belgium. It wouldn’t happen anywhere else. For me, it’s just nice that there are such fans and that they want to support you.”

The global rise in the popularity of ‘cross has pushed her profile still higher. What is it about such a debilitating discipline, one synonymous with mud, sweat and gears, that inspires such devotion?

“It’s different racing, on a different course, every week,” Brammeier says. “As a spectator, or even as someone racing, you go to race and you can see every part of the course. You don’t get that on the road. ‘Cross takes place in much more of an enclosed space and so there’s much more contact between the fans and the riders.

“When you’re on the start line, it becomes your job and of course things change; everyone is a competitor. But a lot goes on around the race: warming up, speaking to the other riders.

“Cyclo-cross is more welcoming than other disciplines. There’s more of a family aspect.  On the road, you turn up on a bus with your team-mates and people don’t really see you before the race, only during it. ‘Cross is a lot more open.”

The women’s road race in Rio was a formidable test, marked by the sickening crash of Annemiek van Vleuten, from which – miraculously – the Dutch woman escaped with no lasting injury. Brammeier remembers the race as “definitely intense”, even if her experience of the Games was brief.

“It was cool to see athletes from other sports and nations, but at the same time you’re in your own bubble,” she says. “I was straight out of there afterwards, because I wanted a rest before the ‘cross season. But the memories from the race will stay with me forever.”

She will be hoping for another memorable experience on Saturday. A quality field, headed by six-time world champion Marianne Vos (Netherlands), will offer no quarter, but Brammeier’s strategy – to ride her own race and see where the chips fall – seems eminently sensible.