Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado over the moon with Troyes victory: "this was perhaps my most memorable victory in recent years"

Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado has won the biggest of races in cyclocross but this Sunday's triumph in Troyes was very important to her. After seeing her compatriots dominate the discipline in recent years, she was very emotional after winning today in the World Cup leader's jersey.

“Today it was also a hard fight during the race. It was a battle with Puck [Pieterse] for the win. I knew she was strong and would probably return to the field strong. I fought for every second and every meter," Alvarado said in a post-race interview. The Dutchwoman has been a World Champion in the past, but this triumph gave a similar feeling. Lucinda Brand, Fem van Empel and Pieterse have become dominant figures in the sport over the past few years and she was left in a secondary spot.

She won last week in Dendermonde however it was a race lacking the big competition. Today Pieterse and Brand were both present, and Alvarado took a strong and convincing win ahead of the duo. “I had a battle with Puck, which I won. I also rode in the leader's jersey. As I said, this was perhaps my most memorable victory in recent years," she admits.

Alvarado seemed to be in difficulties keeping up with Pieterse's rhythm throughout the first half of the fourth round of the cup, however she was consistent and on lap 4 dealt a killer attack which had no response. This victory also sees her gap to second place in the World Cup Fem van Empel grow quite a lot, as the World Champion was absent.