Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin) wins first race in 21 months at Jaarmarktcross; Runner-up Betsema keeps Superprestige series lead

La ciclocrossista de origen dominicano hizo podio con sus conacionales Denise Betsema (The Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) e Inge van der Heijden (Team 777).

She’s had problems over the last couple of years, but on Friday 2020 world champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado returned to the top step of a cyclocross race, winning Jaarmarktcross, the second round of the Superprestige series in Niel, Belgium. Runner-up Denise Betsema hangs on to the series lead.

Going into Friday’s race

At the top of the table Betsema had a one-point lead over Inge van der Heijden after claiming the first round in Ruddervoorde on October 29. Alvarado, winner of the 2019-2020 series, was two points back. Lucinda Brand was still out recovering from a hand injury, but Lorena Wiebes was in Niel.

The course contained sand and a difficult, tight, undulating section over grass lumps, basically moguls. There were plenty of reasons to get off the bike.

Alvarado took the hole shot on Lap 1. Very early in the lap Zoe Backstedt and Clara Honsinger got in a big tangle that held up the majority of the riders. Van der Heijden took the lead and she pulled a group containing Alvarado, Betsema, Sanne Cant and Aniek van Alphen to complete the first 2.8-km circuit in 7:24.

Van der Heijden pulls the string on Lap 1.

Van der Heijden, Alvarado and Betsema took their leave of the others on Lap 2 of 6, van Alphen the closest pursuer.

The course prevented the riders from hitting the sandpit with enough speed to ride through.

Van Alphen caught her brake lever on the course tape near the beginning of Lap 3. Gaps stretched out between the leading trio but they came back together before the sandpit. The Cant-Van Alphen chase was 34 seconds in arrears.

Betsema is first through Lap 3’s moguls.

Once more van Heijden was distanced on Lap 4, and by the middle of the circuit it looked like she wasn’t going to come back.

On the penultimate lap the Alpecin-Deceuninck vs Pauwels Sauzen scrap continued with the fans and pundits hoping a mechanical wouldn’t be the determiner. The two Dutch riders at the business end of the race heard the bell together.

The bell lap saw van der Heijden making sure she was holding off the other podium contenders. Betsema spun out, giving Alvarado the smallest of advantages. Ceylin worked to pry it wider but had to put a foot out in the moguls. Betsema made the junction before the sandpit. But Alvarado powered away in the final 500 metres to take the victory, weeping with relief after the line.

The next round is Merksplas on November 19.

2022-2023 Superprestige Series, Round 2, Niel
1) Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (The Netherlands/Alpecin-Deceuninck) 48:04
2) Denise Betsema (The Netherlands/Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) +0:05
3) Inge van der Heijden (The Netherlands/777) +0:54