Manon Bakker (Crelan-Correndon) blasted away across the snows of Val di Sole for the biggest victory of her career ahead of World Cup leader Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceunink).
At the end of a thrilling final lap duel, Bakker first closed in on long-standing race leader Alvarado, then pulled away for an impressive solo win.
Last year’s winner Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) came home in third, making for an all-Netherlands podium in Italy’s only round of the cyclocross World Cup.
Third in 2022, Bakker said later that she had had a tough early part of the ultra-challenging, snow-covered course, but had stayed focussed to fight back and finally defeat one of the top favourites of the day.
“I thought I could race for the win, but I didn’t want to say anything before the race because I haven’t raced for the win this year,” she began to explain later, only for her TV interview to be halted briefly as she received a congratulatory hug from rival Pieterse.
“I had a bad start but I knew I had to stay calm and really ride my race. I’m a really technical rider so I like these kinds of courses where it’s very difficult and slippery. There were also power parts so it was a course that really suited me.”
“It’s a victory that means a lot to me, it’s been a year with a lot of ups and downs, I’ve had some really good races, but also some shitty ones, so to win here, it confirms I’ve still got it.”
26 riders set out on a dry, clear but very cold day – two degrees celsius at most – across the deep snows of Val di Sole, only for almost the entire peloton, led by World Cup leader and 2022 runner-up Alvarado, to come down briefly in the first corner.
The mass crash was effectively an early sign of how difficult racing in these conditions would likely prove to be. But in a reminder that certain nations tend thrive in such snowy terrain, Czech National Champion Krystyna Zemanova (Brilon Racing Team-MB) moved ahead on the first lap, battling skilfully to take control of the course.
Italy’s Valentina Corvi followed the Czech rider most closely with Alvarado shadowing a little further behind, and despite sickness earlier this week, Alvarado proved to be in her element. Her determination to go one better than in the 2022 World Cup round of Val de Sole showed, too, as the Netherlands racer moved ahead even before the first lap was complete. Riders constantly changed tactics, running over the snow for long stretches and then briefly…
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