Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Premier Tech) took advantage of a final lap mistake by Lucinda Brand (Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions) to solo to victory in the snow and ice of Zonhoven at the ninth round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup.
Alvarado, who is now a back-to-back winner on the famously technical and sandy course, came from behind to triumph, having crashed early on. She'd hit the front after further mistakes from her rivals before going on to lead for most of the closing two laps.
She eventually crossed the line 23 seconds up on Brand while early leader Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) came home in third place at 49 seconds down.
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The win is the second of Alvarado's season and her second of the weekend after the 27-year-old triumphed in snowy conditions during Friday's Exact Cross meeting in Mol.
"Along the way, I made many mistakes, and I think I was riding too long on the wrong tyres. It was really slippery for me, but I never gave up and, like I said earlier, the mistakes [for everyone] were crucial," Alvarado said after her victory.
Pieterse (left), Brand (centre), and Alvarado (right) fell early on Zonhoven's sandpit descent, Kuil (Image credit: Getty Images)
The opening lap of the race had seen Pieterse storm into an early lead from the get-go as Brand and Alvarado took up the chase. All three would go down early, though, falling as they descended Zonhoven's famous Kuil sand trap.
Pieterse would get back up quickest, retaining the lead as Leonie Bentveld (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriesbouw) and Aniek van Alphen (Seven Racing) led the chase at 10 seconds down.
Lap two saw Brand and Alvarado come back, however, replacing Bentveld and Van Alphen in the chase, while Pieterse continued on out front with a strong lead.
Her advantage only remained in place until the mid-point of the race, however, with Brand and Alvarado coming across on lap three before Pieterse slid out on an icy corner, forcing her to play catch-up.
Pieterse was an early leader on the snowbound course at Zonhoven (Image credit: Getty Images)
Lap four brought the first major push from Brand, with the star of the season so far going clear to distance Alvarado and Pieterse. That advantage evaporated on lap five, though, with Brand the next rider to crash out of the lead, ceding first place to Alvarado as she was forced to pit for a bike change.
Further back, Pieterse, who had already lost too much ground to compete for victory, fell again on lap five, ensuring her third-place finish.
Up front, Brand had seven seconds to make up on solo leader Alvarado and produced a fearsome pace to quickly do so early on the final lap of the race. She immediately hit the front and turned on the power once again.
However, Brand's eagerness to go clear seemed to be her undoing as she lost control and veered into the fencing, losing precious time and dropping out of the lead. Alvarado was back out in front and only had to avoid disaster on the remaining half lap to convert her position into the race victory, which she duly managed.
The all-Dutch final podium in Zonhoven (Image credit: Getty Images)
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include Strade Bianche, the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, and Tro-Bro Léon.
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