“That was with my buttocks clenched" - Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado's hilarious reaction to victory at Superprestige Niel

The 2023 edition of Superprestige Niel was an absolute muddy carnage. Thriving amongst these tricky conditions was Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, the Dutchwomen a comfortable winner.

“We didn't have many laps, which shows how slowly we drove around the course,” said the Alpecin-Deceuninck star in her post-race interview. “But I still enjoyed it. The sliding, not seeing where you are going. I thought that was cool.”

With many riders slipping, sliding and even crashing, staying upright was a challenge in itself, let alone covering the course at pace. “I don't know what happened behind me, but I was gone and had no choice but to continue. I did that too. The gap also became large quite quickly. Then it was important to ride at my own pace. There were still some hiccups and glitches here and there, but I managed to keep it straight," recaps Alvarado.

“At one point it was crawling on the bike. It was really tough. You drove into ruts and then you had to hope that you stayed in them, instead of sliding into the ribbon left or right," she concludes, referencing the big up and down into the mud. “That was with my buttocks clenched. It was random. For example, I also heard along the way that Marie Schreiber had rolled over, so it was tricky. But it was the fastest way.”