World Cup Dendermonde: Alvarado takes solo win with another display of domination

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After easing to victory at Saturday's Superprestige round in Niel, Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck) dominated once again at the third UCI World Cup round of the season in Dendermonde.

The Dutchwoman had no equals during the six-lap race, hitting the front of the field on the first lap and riding away to solo to a sublime victory for the second time in two days.

Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) was her closest competitor, attempting to keep Alvarado in check on the opening lap before letting go. She finished up the day in second place, 37 seconds down, though the race wasn't anywhere near as close as the final time gap suggests.

Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-Sram) rounded out the podium in third place, though the British champion was almost another full minute off the pace at 1:35 down, while no other riders came home within two minutes of Alvarado.

"It feels good to win twice in a row again. I'm in very good shape," Alvarado said later. "It went better than expected. It's nice to race with this feeling.

"I knew in advance that I had to ride at my own pace. Lucinda went quickly but I didn't let myself be fooled by that."

"Of course, I had two difficult years and last season was mixed. Then I noticed that I was enjoying cyclocross again. It's important to keep working hard and it will pay off."

Once again, world champion Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma) wasn't on the start line, leaving Alvarado as the top favourite on Sunday after her easy win a day earlier. She hit the front within the first few minutes of the race, taking over from Brand, who was taking on her first race back from injury.

After Alvarado took over the lead, there was no stopping her, despite there being over 50 minutes left to run in the race. Brand also rode a lonely race in second, with no riders behind able to get across to her despite the likes of Aniek van Alphen (Cyclocross Reds) and Crelan-Corendon pair Manon Bakker and Inge van der Heijden racing behind her.

Up front, Alvarado's advantage held at around the 50-second mark for much of the race, her victory never in doubt over the seven laps. Behind Brand, Bäckstedt fought Marion Norbert-Riberolle (Crelan-Corendon) for the final podium spot.

The 19-year-old Briton came out on top in the end, eventually leaving the Belgian behind and pulling out a 26-second gap. The day, however, was Alvarado's as she celebrated her third win of the 2023-24 season.

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