Rafaelle Carrier has added a Junior round of the Superprestige series to her brace of 2025-2025 Junior World Cup wins. Compatriot Nico Knoll placed third in Saturday’s penultimate round of the Superprestige in Gullegem, Belgium. In the elite women’s race, Lucinda Brand beat series leader Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado to take over the top of the table with one round remaining. Katja Verkerk was the top Canadian in 21st.
Preliminaries
The Superprestige is the tightest of the Big Three Series. Alvarado might have taken four of the first six rounds, but she wasn’t running away with the series, as two-round winter Lucinda Brand was only a single point adrift. There were no Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse.
The Canadian contingent consisted of Katja Verkerk, Dorothee Perron and Mia de Martin.
Zoe Backstedt zipped into the hole shot on Lap 1. Leonie Bentveld, Sanne Cant, Alvarado and Brand were all up the front. De Martin was the best-placed Canadian early. Alvarado trotted through the mud behind the Brit. Backstedt finished the first 2.73-km lap in 8:59.
At the start of Lap 2, Backstedt, Bentveld and Alvarado pushed open a little gap before the washboard, Brand chasing with Marion Norbert Riberolle and Annemiek van Alphen behind her. De Martin was 20th. Brand reached the trio and all four popped on new machines. A bad pit resulted in Brand losing eight seconds by the line.
Alvarado sensed that Brand was vulnerable, so she took over the lead early on Lap 3 of 5. Brand continued her chase with Riberolle trying to reach her. De Martin was 22nd and Verkerk 23rd. Backstedt pulled the trio over the line 11 seconds ahead of Brand.
Just before the first pit of the penultimate lap, Alvarado signaled her intent by seizing the wheel again. The last lap and a half is Brand Time, and the front trio was cognizant of this threat. Alvarado and Backstedt split from Bentveld, who found Brand slipping past her. Alvarado charged up the staircase. All four grabbed fresh bikes. Bentveld began to lag.
Brand attacked at the start of the bell lap. Backstedt was in the background and Brand and Alvarado engaged their private battle for the Superprestige title. Brand took her leave of Alvarado. Backstedt reached Alvarado and ground past in the mud run, making contact that Alvarado didn’t like. The two sprinted it out for…
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