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.
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 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.
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…
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