Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado turns disaster weekend into a win in Zonhoven - "Yesterday I threw up everything twenty minutes before the start"
Cyclocross
In Zonhoven, Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado won her second World Cup race of the season. She isn't fighting for the overall win, but has taken an important win only one day after having a disastrous day in Hulst.
In a post-race interview, she revealed that her race in Hulst came after a disastrous situation. “Yesterday I threw up everything twenty minutes before the start. I didn’t expect much anyway. I knew it wasn’t going to be a good day, but I tried. I felt better today. It was a new day.”
Today was a new day, and a motivated Alvarado benefited from the absence of Fem van Empel in a star-studded field. “I had hoped it was just a one-off yesterday anyway. I slept well and kept everything inside last night and tonight. I also just felt better again. I was hoping for a good day. It took some time to get into it, but it went well.”
Alvarado actually started off quite distant from the front, as Zoe Bäckstedt took over the early lead with a large gap, and then Lucinda Brand also dropped her. But in the second half of the race Alvarado flew, being the fastest in the entire course, and caught up with her two rivals.
“I didn’t really believe in it in the first half, because she rode very far away. At one point I was on Lucinda’s wheel and we are two riders who keep riding until the end. At one point we came very close, so then I thought: it’s for the win today," she explains. On lap 5 she was head and shoulders above the rest, and went clear. She reached the finish to take a brilliant victory - also moving up to third in the standings.
"Especially after the feeling of yesterday. Today was completely different. I didn’t expect to win, so that makes it even better," she concluded. "I skipped two races and didn’t have a good day yesterday. So I think it will be difficult to win. Hopefully I keep riding well in the World Cup and then we’ll see.”
Read also
Women Elite 🏆 in Zonhoven ⤵️:
— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) December 22, 2024
🥇 Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado 🇳🇱
🥈 Zoe Backstedt 🇬🇧 +5s
🥉 Lucinda Brand 🇳🇱 +15s #CXWorldCup #FLCS pic.twitter.com/eNwL2IrNLj
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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