Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado reveals depression over CX difficulties - "The days I sat at home with my boyfriend crying, you can't count on the fingers of two hands"

Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado got her first victory of the season in Superprestige Niel last Friday. It was a special moment for her since it was her first victory after one and a half years of gap.

The lack of wins affected Alvarado, "It was the low point in my life. And that's no exaggeration," she told the AD. A lack of results led her to depression and issues for her. "At one point, I even went into a kind of depression. Seeing everything negatively, very moody, and turned inside myself. The days I sat at home with my boyfriend crying, you can't count on the fingers of two hands,'' shared Alvarado.

Not only that but she was also diagnosed with cytomegalovirus last season. "So I wasn't overtrained, but because I kept training and my body couldn't handle it, I ended up causing it," the Dutchwoman explained.

She continues, "If you look back, I still rode pretty well that season. I didn't win, but was keen to make the most of it. I was always used to riding from the front and competing for the win. Now I had to learn to compete in the middle class. I had never had to do that before in my career. And I'll never get used to it either. Race after race I found it difficult.''

However, now that she is back in form, she wants at least ten more victories to compensate for the last year. "I still want to get as much out of it as possible. To have ten jerseys hanging in my closet, to have won everything, years in a row. That's still the goal,'' concluded Alvarado.