"I get a lot of hope from my faith - God will pull me through": Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado bounces back from injury nightmare to reclaim Dutch national title
CyclocrossSunday, 11 January 2026 at 15:14
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado did not treat her Dutch national championships title as a finish line. For her, the win in Huijbergen felt more like proof that a long, difficult road was finally pointing in the right direction.
After beating Puck Pieterse and Lucinda Brand to reclaim the Dutch cyclocross crown, Alvarado said the victory confirmed what she had already begun to feel in recent weeks. “Yes, the feeling was already coming back, but this is the confirmation,” she said in conversation with Wielerflits.
The rider from Fenix-Premier Tech had arrived at the championships with form improving but still uncertain. Knee problems delayed the start of her season, and illness then stalled it again. “I don’t yet feel that I am completely back at my peak, but it is going in the right direction. I think I am almost there,” she said.
Her winter had never followed the plan she wanted. “That lasted three weeks,” she added, referring to the illness that followed her knee issues.
Hope through setbacks
Despite those interruptions, Alvarado said she never stopped believing she would return to her top level. “In the end it is my job. And I just really love doing it. I always have hope that it will be good again,” she said.
She also spoke about the role her faith played during the harder moments of the season. “Of course I also get a lot of hope from my faith. That God will pull me through. That makes the red white blue even more beautiful.”
Her performance in Huijbergen showed how far she has already come. After riding away from Pieterse in the middle of the race, she finished solo to claim her second Dutch elite title, adding to the one she won in 2020.
Even with the national jersey secured, Alvarado is not treating the job as done. Her focus is now on squeezing out the last gains before the end of the season.
“The coming weeks will be hard training,” she laughed. “A few more percentages. More than that I cannot do.”
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🏆 🇳🇱 Netherlands (CN) Women Elite: 🥇 🇳🇱 Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado 🥈 🇳🇱 Puck Pieterse 🥉 🇳🇱 Lucinda Brand ➡ Results: cyclocross24.com/race/17996/
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