Ceylin Alvarado cemented her leadership position in the UCI World Cup by also triumphing at the Citadel of Namur. The Dutch rider was 18 seconds faster than her compatriots Puck Pieterse and Lucinda Brand.
In the absence of sick World Champion Fem van Empel, World Cup leader Ceylin Alvarado started as the top favourite. After a cautious start, Alvarado quickly took control. At the end of the first lap, she was already 15 seconds ahead of Puck Pieterse (who suffered a chain break and later a shoe problem) and Lucinda Brand.
On the very slippery but sun-drenched Namur course, Alvarado was able to show off her power and technique. She systematically extended the gap with the chasing duo.
Despite the combined efforts of Pieterse and Brand, Alvarado lost none of her lead. Only on the final lap did she allow herself to take her foot off the accelerator with confidence. At the finish line, she had gained an 18-second bonus on Pieterse, who beat Brand in the sprint for second place.
The first non-Dutch rider in the ranking was Italian Sara Casasola in fourth place at 2’15. First Belgian was Laura Verdonschot with ninth place over 3 minutes behind Alvarado.
