Round Three having been canceled last weekend, the 2024-2025 World Cup resumed on Sunday at the demanding Namur, Belgium course where Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado took the top honours. It was her first World Cup victory of the season. Runner-up Lucinda Brand extended her lead at the top of the table with a brilliant race. World champion Fem van Empel suffered a battalion of troubles in the first half. Canadian junior champion Rafaelle Carrier produced a fine performance on a punishing course, finishing 20th.
Preliminaries
Fem van Empel and Lucinda Brand were tied on 70 points at the top of the general classification, but Brand was the leader. The Cabras cancellation was in van Empel’s favour, as she had skipped the race anyway. Puck Pieterse was making her season debut.
After Maghalie Rochette had to wrap up her European campaign early because of finger injuries suffered in Saturday’s X2O race, Katja Verkerk, Sidney McGill, Rafaelle Carrier and Nico Knoll made up the Canadian contingent.
Marie Schreiber had her typical hot start, claiming the hole shot on Lap 1. In the congestion, McGill’s chain came off. Kata Blanka Vas was in Position 2 and Pieterse moved up quickly after starting from the second row. Van Empel and Pieterse came together with a clang and went down. On the infamous off-camber section, van Empel got tangled in the netting. Vas led Schreiber over the line at the citadel, van Empel 20 seconds back, Pieterse +0:08. Carrier was top Canadian in 19th.
Alvarado had quietly moved into third going into Lap 2 of 6. Annemarie Worst was fourth and Pieterse fifth. The world champion had more problems and was over 50 seconds back in the middle of the lap. Alvarado passed Schreiber, and Alvarado and Vas finished the second circuit seven seconds clear. Carrier was 17th.
Pieterse drew the leading duo closer at the beginning of Lap 3, Alvarado finally seizing the reins. As Pieterse fought to make contact, Alvarado and Vas battled for the front. Brand squeezed by Worst into fifth. Carrier rose to 15th.
Alvarado started to push on at the start of Lap 4, yanking out 11 seconds on Vas and Pieterse. Brand, Schreiber and Worst continued their bid for the podium, Brand shaking off the others before the off-camber section. Alvarado had a 21-second buffer heading into the penultimate lap….
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