Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado has taken advantage of the absence of Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse to win in Ruddervoorde and yesterday in Niel. As the two youngsters prepare to latter goals Alvarado looks to take her chance, and is the woman to beat in the Dendermonde World Cup.
“But actually I didn't start in Niel with a different attitude than in the races in which Fem was there. Whether my competitors are there or not, I always have the same mindset. I want to win every race I start in," Alvarado told Wielerflits. “If you are given the role of favorite on such a day, it is always extra nice to win. I also confirm my leading position in the Telenet Superprestige. I even walk a bit. If everything continues to go well and I stay healthy, I definitely want to make the final victory a goal.”
Alvarado leads the cup which is very much based on consistency. For the time being however she can also hope of a World Cup lead as Dendermonde will not feature the World Champion. Alvarado so far is very keen on those two cups specifically, not focusing on the X20 Badkamers Trofee, and is looking to take as many wins as possible.
“You have to build in a block of training somewhere, it doesn't matter whether it is here or abroad," she acknowledges. "It's a very long cross season and otherwise you won't make it to the end. One rider skips a race here, the other there. To keep up, I also have to slow down a bit somewhere. I don't know about skipping yet, but maybe I will be at the start here and there feeling tired because I've had a hard training week."
