Alvarado wins again in Namur after a strong race

The Citadel of Namur was the venue for the fourth round of the 2024-2025 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup. After an exciting race, it was Ceylin Alvarado who emerged triumphant. Lucinda Brand missed her start, but crossed the line in second place after an impressive catch-up race. Puck Pieterse, making her return to cyclo-cross, completed the podium.

It was Marie Schreiber (Team SD Worx - Protime) who was off to a great start, something she excelled at in recent weeks. Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), starting from the second row, moved up quickly and entered the field in fourth position.

Early in the first lap, world champion Fem van Empel (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) ran into trouble. First she slipped when she tried to pass Pieterse and soon after she got stuck with her bike in the banners. This meant she had to play catch-up early on and ultimately she was out of the running for a podium place.

The leader in the standings, Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) did not have much of a good start either and, for a while, she remained in the chasing group together with Van Empel.

In the third lap, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck), who had already joined the leaders at the front of the race, rode an impressive passage of the slanted section and created the first gap. She quickly built up a lead of 7 seconds, which she was able to extend as the race went on.

Behind her, Brand joined up with Kata Blanka Vas (Team SD Worx - Protime) and Pieterse. On the passage of the slanted section in the fifth lap, Brand flew past the other two and set off in search of the race leader. It remained exciting until the end, with Brand coming back to within six seconds at the finish. Close, but not quite enough, as Alvarado took the win.