Pro Bike Gallery: Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado's Canyon Inflite CF SLX
A detailed look at the 22-year-old European champion's cyclo-cross bike
A world champion at just 21 years of age and an already countless number of wins in her short career to date, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado is one of the biggest prospects in cycling.
The 22-year-old Dutchwoman might only be young, but she's cemented her place among the best in her discipline and throughout the 2020/21 'cross season, she has repeatedly justified the rainbow jersey she won in Dübendorf last February.
Her season started strongly with a domination at Superprestige Gieten, backed up with a win at Ruddervoorde. She continued the good vein of form by adding a European title to her Worlds win in early December, then went three-for-three at Herentals, GP Sven Nys and Flandriencross to win the X²O Badkamers Trofee.
She's also had a share of bad luck throughout the season. Her rivalry with Lucinda Brand reached new heights when a pit incident - for which Brand was later fined - left the world champion "pissed off." A mere six days later, it wasn't the competitors but the course that derailed Alvarado's race, when a wire became tangled in her cassette and rear mech, forcing her to stop for a full minute mid-race.
Despite failing to successfully defend her World Championship title in Oostende - a title which now goes to Lucinda Brand - Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado has a bright future ahead in both cyclo-cross and on the road, with Ciclismo Mundial.
Since 2017, Alvarado has ridden for the Belgian outfit known today as Alpecin-Fenix. For the duration of which, she has ridden Canyon's Inflite CF SLX - similar to Mathieu van der Poel's 'cross bike.
Like Van der Poel, Alvarado's 'cross bike is decked out with Shimano's range-topping Dura-Ace Di2 disc brake groupset, complete with Dura-Ace tubular wheels wrapped in handmade tubular tyres from French company FMB - using the brand's Slalom model - though effectively one-upping her compatriot by having her name printed onto the tan sidewalls.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Chainrings come courtesy of Wickwerks, a brand specialising in chainrings with aggressively profiled teeth for optimised shifting - as also found on Katie Compton's custom-painted Trek Boone.
At the end of the Dura-Ace cranks, Shimano's XTR mountain bike pedals provide the first of three touchpoints. The other two touchpoints come courtesy of Selle Italia. Her saddle of choice is the X-LR Superflow, and her Smootape bar tape has been backwards-wrapped.
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
As the Tech Editor here at Cyclingnews, Josh leads on content relating to all-things tech, including bikes, kit and components in order to cover product launches and curate our world-class buying guides, reviews and deals. Alongside this, his love for WorldTour racing and eagle eyes mean he's often breaking tech stories from the pro peloton too.
On the bike, 32-year-old Josh has been riding and racing since his early teens. He started out racing cross country when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s and has never looked back. He's always training for the next big event and is keen to get his hands on the newest tech to help. He enjoys a good long ride on road or gravel, but he's most alive when he's elbow-to-elbow in a local criterium.