Alvarado clinches victory in Merksplas

After a gripping and intense race in the Telenet Superprestige in Merksplas, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado took the win with a strong finishing effort. The Dutchwoman made it ahead of Lucinda Brand and Luxembourg’s Marie Schreiber.

It was Marie Schreiber (Team SD Worx - Protime) who was first into the field, ahead of Sara Casasola (Crelan-Corendon). Setting a brisk pace, Schreiber immediately set the tone, building a lead after a mistake by Casasola. At the end of the first lap, she had a six-second lead over Annemarie Worst (Cyclocross Reds) and the rest of the chasers.

While Zoë Backstedt (Canyon//SRAM Racing) spearheaded the chase, Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck) moved up into second and third positions. Despite the increased pace from behind, Schreiber managed to extend her lead to eight seconds.

On the sandy strips, Alvarado showed why she was one of the top favourites. With a good passage through the sand, she came within two seconds of Schreiber after the second crossing. Not much later, both Alvarado and Brand joined the front-runner. Backstedt and Casasola then did the same.

Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) was making an impressive charge from behind. So good that the Dutch rider moved up from sixth to lead the race. A wobble on the fourth lap gave Brand a window of opportunity as van der Heijden held up the rest of the leading group.

However, Alvarado and Van der Heijden soon rejoined Brand. At the start of the fifth lap, Alvarado started to turn up the heat. She opened up a five-second gap and kept up the pace until the final lap. The Dutch rider experienced a poor last passage through the sand, which allowed Brand to get very close, but she held on. And so, in Merksplas, Alvarado secured her third Telenet Superprestige victory in four rounds. Brand finished second, Schreiber was a good third.