Alvarado back on top in women's X2O Trophy Herentals 2020

Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Fenix) took her fifth win of the season in the women's X2O Trophy Herentals 2020 on Wednesday, grinding down her opposition over four grueling laps before winning alone ahead of Lucinda Brand (Telenet-Baloise) and Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal).

Although Alvarado came out strong in the first races, she had been up against a dominant Brand in recent weeks and gone winless since the GP Leuven on November 14.

"It's really great that I could win today. It is nice to see that my good feeling is slowly coming back," Alvarado said. "Lucinda has been in good shape in recent weeks and I was not doing so well. Therefore, the gap with Lucinda was extra large. The fact that I could stay ahead of Lucinda and Denise today is a sign that my form is slowly returning."

In the early stages of the race Betsema set the pace ahead of Sanne Cant (Iko-Crelan) and Alvarado but it wasn’t long before Brand joined the leading trio. Betsema was quick to follow Alvarado’s pace setting on the first lap before Cant and Yara Kastelijn were slowly distanced after the first lap.

The world champion made her move towards the end of the second lap, moving away on a tough uphill section before establishing a six second lead by the end of the lap. Brand and Betsema kept Alvarado in their sights and held the gap at six seconds. 

On the penultimate lap Alvarado pulled even further clear. She used the exact same stretch of the course to once again build on her lead, and was able to ride up the tough muddy section as Brand and Betsema were forced to their feet.

On the downhill section that followed Alvarado was able to remain on her bike, and while Brand tried to replicate that stance she wasn’t able to remain upright and crashed on the tricky descent.

"It was a very tough cross,” Brand said after the finish. "Today I had a slight off day and then you also make a few more mistakes. You will make a mistake on this course anyway, but that is part of it."

The final lap saw Alvarado hold her lead before crossing the line alone and 19 seconds ahead of Brand, and a further four seconds ahead of Betsema. The Alpecin-Fenix rider used her technical superiority to make the difference over a demanding course and then used the flatter portions to hold the chasers at bay.

In the race for the minor places Clara Honsinger (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld) put in another valiant ride to take fourth. The American rider had to make her way through the field during the opening two laps but put herself into contention thanks to a sterling ride over the second half of the race. She finished 1:30 down on the winner but managed to hold off the challenge from Sanne Cant, while Marianne Vos had to settle for sixth.