Awesome Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado survives last lap charge from Lucinda Brand to take victory at brutal edition of World Cup Namur

An awesome display from Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado has seen the Fenix-Deceuninck star take victory at one of the most prestigious and challenging courses in all of cyclocross, this Sunday afternoon at World Cup Namur, surviving a massive last lap effort from a charging Lucinda Brand.

As has become expected, Marie Schreiber was the fastest of the pack from the flag drop, leading alongside teammate Blanka Kata Vas. Midway through the first lap, Puck Pieterse and Fem van Empel had a little coming together, with the world champion actually hitting the deck. As Van Empel then looked to push hard to get back in contention, she actually slipped out again, crossing for the end of the first lap 20 seconds down in 10th.

As Vas began to put the hammer down and distance her teammate Schreiber on lap 2, the sheer brutality of the course was already beginning to take its toll on those behind and sadly, Van Empel again came into difficulty, seemingly crashing for a third time off camera. By the end of lap 2, Van Empel had dropped to over a minute down on the leaders, where Vas now had company at the front in the form of Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado.

On lap 3, the leading duo had more company as the returning Puck Pieterse got back in touch, keeping hopes of a winning debut to this cyclocross season alive. Alvarado though, was looking faultless. Despite starting on the second row, no one could live with the Dutch former world champion on laps 3 and 4 as she accelerated clear of Vas and Pieterse.

Although Alvarado was powering towards the victory, Vas and Pieterse were getting a rival in the battle for second as Lucinda Brand swept straight past the duo on the penultimate lap. As the final lap began, Brand was actually clear in second, but with a 22 second deficit to Alvarado, the Dutch national champion still had work to do if she wanted victory.

Despite a few issues for Alvarado on the final lap and a massive effort behind by Brand, the buffer the leader had built herself proved just enough to hold onto the victory, with Brand taking second and Pieterse third.