Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Premier Tech) delivered a measured, technically assured ride to win round nine of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Zonhoven, mastering a course buried under snow and ice to end Lucinda Brand's run of dominance. Brand finished second with a gap of 23 s, with Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) third at 49 s.
In conditions that punished hesitation and rewarded precision, Alvarado stayed composed as the race repeatedly reset, then capitalised when the opportunity finally came.
Elite Women Results
Zonhoven • Jan 4
| Pos | Rider | NATNationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Ceylin del Carmen ALVARADO | NED | 0:51:33 |
| 🥈 | Lucinda BRAND | NED | +0:23 |
| 🥉 | Puck PIETERSE | NED | +0:49 |
| 4 | Amandine FOUQUENET | FRA | +1:27 |
| 5 | Shirin VAN ANROOIJ | NED | +1:39 |
| 6 | Aniek VAN ALPHEN | NED | +1:46 |
| 7 | Leonie BENTVELD | NED | +2:21 |
| 8 | Kristýna ZEMANOVÁ | CZE | +2:28 |
| 9 | Manon BAKKER | NED | +2:29 |
| 10 | Zoe BACKSTEDT | GBR | +2:42 |
| 11 | Fleur MOORS | BEL | +2:45 |
| 12 | Hélène CLAUZEL | FRA | +2:47 |
| 13 | Annemarie WORST | NED | +3:01 |
| 14 | Marion NORBERT RIBEROLLE | BEL | +3:17 |
| 15 | Denise BETSEMA | NED | +3:19 |
| 16 | Célia GERY | FRA | +3:29 |
| 17 | Lison DESPREZ | FRA | +4:03 |
| 18 | Lidia CUSACK | USA | +4:03 |
| 19 | Julie BROUWERS | BEL | +4:07 |
| 20 | Vida LOPEZ DE SAN ROMAN | USA | +4:09 |
| 21 | Marie SCHREIBER | LUX | +4:59 |
| 22 | Amandine MULLER | FRA | +5:06 |
| 23 | Lucia BRAMATI | ITA | +5:09 |
| 24 | Lauren MOLENGRAAF | NED | +5:14 |
| 25 | Mae CABACA | NED | +5:25 |
| 26 | Rebekka ESTERMANN | SUI | +5:37 |
| 27 | Carlotta BORELLO | ITA | +5:42 |
| 28 | Perrine CLAUZEL | FRA | +5:47 |
| 29 | Marthe TRUYEN | BEL | +5:47 |
| 30 | Kateřina HLADÍKOVÁ | CZE | +5:48 |
| 31 | Sofia RODRIGUEZ REVERT | ESP | +5:50 |
| 32 | Bloeme KALIS | NED | +5:56 |
| 33 | Kiona CRABBÉ | BEL | +6:12 |
| 34 | Alyssa SARKISOV | USA | +6:19 |
| 35 | Nico KNOLL | CAN | +6:48 |
| 36 | Mia ASELTINE | USA | +7:01 |
| 37 | Alicia FRANCK | BEL | +7:10 |
| 38 | Lucia GONZALEZ BLANCO | ESP | +7:16 |
| 39 | Ilken SEYNAVE | BEL | +7:29 |
| 40 | Sterre VERVLOET | BEL | +7:40 |
| 41 | Regina BRUCHNER | HUN | +7:53 |
| 42 | Lyllie SONNEMANN | USA | +8:23 |
| 43 | Mille NIELSEN | DEN | +8:29 |
| 44 | Jinse PEETERS | BEL | +8:42 |
| 45 | Xan CREES | GBR | +8:46 |
| 46 | Anna KAY | GBR | +8:53 |
| 47 | Sara CUETO VEGA | ESP | +9:30 |
| 48 | Shanyl DE SCHOESITTER | BEL | +10:28 |
| 49 | Lauren ZOERNER | USA | - |
| 50 | Katja VERKERK | CAN | - |
| 51 | Maïté BARTHELS | LUX | - |
| 52 | Anaïs MOULIN | FRA | - |
| 53 | Layla BARTHELS | LUX | - |
| 54 | Kaija BUDDE | GER | - |
| 55 | Dorothee PERRON | CAN | - |
| 56 | Giorgia SECCHI | ITA | - |
| 57 | Rosalie DENK | AUT | - |
| 58 | Emily SHIELDS | USA | - |
| 59 | Saga ELF BOBERG | SWE | - |
| 60 | Siobhan KELLY | CAN | - |
| 61 | Luna CARRIO HERNANDEZ | ESP | - |
How the race was won
Zonhoven’s infamous De Kuil set the tone immediately, with chaos on the opening passage through the sand. Puck Pieterse, Lucinda Brand and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado all hit the deck together, scattering the favourites before the race had settled. Pieterse recovered fastest and surged clear, while Brand and Alvarado were forced into an early chase on a course offering little rhythm or opportunity to reset.
That early aggression began to tell as the snow-covered technical sections accumulated. Pieterse’s pace faded through the middle of the race, and on lap three Brand bridged across to the front, dragging Alvarado with her. The trio re-formed at the head of affairs, but the slick surface ensured no advantage was stable for long, with positions and gaps constantly under threat.
As Pieterse dropped back to secure third, the race narrowed into a straight duel. Brand leaned on her power through the climbing sections, while Alvarado stayed in contact by carrying speed and control through the icy descents. When Brand finally made a rare mistake, sliding out on an icy corner and into a course banner, she lost momentum and requiring a bike change - Alvarado was immediately ready to capitalise.
Heavy snow and freezing temperatures around 0 °C had turned the sand into dense, unpredictable sludge, blunting pure power and placing a premium on handling and composure.
Brand arrived in Zonhoven with a streak of 13 consecutive victories, but the conditions proved decisive.
Analyse the key race data with our in-depth lap time comparison visualisation below:
Standout rides and series picture
Behind the big three, Amandine Fouquenet (Pauwels Sauzen–Cibel) came in fourth, proving consistency in her run of solid results, ahead of Shirin van Anrooij. Zoe Bäckstedt’s top-10 with wildly uneven lap times underlined how punitive the circuit was when you got a line wrong.
Alvarado’s win disrupts the established narrative for the rest of the season and toward the National and World Championships. Zonhoven showed that when handling and composure outweigh raw power, Brand can be put under real pressure. For Fenix–Deceuninck, it was a clear demonstration that the blueprint to beat the World Cup leader exists.
Cover image credit: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
