Ceylin Alvarado took back-to-back wins at the Namur World Cup cross with another solo victory around the Citadel. The Dutch defeated her compatriot Lucinda Brand by six seconds, with Puck Pieterse completing an all-Dutch podium. Fem Van Empel was the victim of several crashes early in the race and could only manage seventh.
Luxembourg’s Marie Schreiber had the best start on the wet tarmac, ahead of Hungary’s Blanka Vas and Pieterse, who was making her comeback. In the background, world champion Fem Van Empel tripped up on what was a typically tricky and muddy course in Namur.
The Dutch rider was unlucky again when she crashed for the second time, and a third fall on the second lap definitely ended any ambitions to win the race. After an impossible chase, Van Empel eventually settled for seventh place, 1m37 behind the winner.
After leading the first two laps Vas passed on the lead to Alvarado, followed by Pieterse. Maria Schreiber followed 18 seconds behind, and Brand – in diesel mode – was 24 seconds back.
Alvarado looked set to navigate her way to an excellent win until she crashed on the final lap, bringing Brand back into contention. But the 26-year-old Dutch stayed calm and a handful of seconds proved enough to claim victory ahead of Brand and Pieterse.
Behind the all-Dutch podium, fourth place went to Vas ahead of Schreiber. Brand took advantage of Van Empel’s unlucky race to take the lead in the World Cup standings.
Alvarado: “I couldn’t see anything because of the mud”
“I was very good in the first part of the race and then I made some mistakes, because I couldn’t see anything through the mud,” Alvarado said. “Brand was very strong, but I was still confident on the last lap because I had enough of a lead.”
