Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado wins the Telenet Superprestige opening round in Ruddervoorde

Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado has won the first race of the new Telenet Superprestige season. The Dutchwoman held off Fem van Empel and Lucinda Brand in Ruddervoorde.

Leonie Bentveld (Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal) was first into the field in West Flanders, but the Dutch cyclist was unable to hold onto the lead for very long. Dutch champion Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) quickly passed her and immediately upped the tempo. At the end of the opening lap, she had a 5-second advantage over world champion Fem van Empel (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Leonie Bentveld and Italian Sara Casasola (Crelan - Corendon). Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck), last year’s winner in Ruddervoorde, followed a few seconds behind.

Van Empel kept the gap down to 8 seconds after two laps, but the world champion seemed unable to catch Brand. Entering the third lap, Alvarado joined the chasers. She immediately took matters into her own hands and caught Brand up, with Casasola and Van Empel hanging on to her wheel.

On the fourth round, Fem van Empel’s moment finally arrived. The world champion pushed forward strongly. Initially, only Casasola could match her pace, but not long after, Brand and Alvarado managed to rejoin.

On the penultimate lap, it was Lucinda Brand who again took the initiative. The Dutch champion soon built up a small lead, but Alvarado went all out and was able to catch her up once more. Alvarado took the lead, but then fell, allowing Fem van Empel to rejoin the leaders. The final part of the race was incredibly exciting and ultimately it was Alvarado who emerged victorious. The Dutch rider thus won for the fourth time in Ruddervoorde. Fem van Empel defeated Lucinda Brand in a sprint for second place.