After a disrupted season due to illness and a persistent knee problem, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Premier Tech) returned to winning ways and scored her first victory of the 2025-26 cyclo-cross season at a snowy edition of the Exact Cross in Mol.
Alvarado battled closely with Manon Bakker (Crelan-Corendon) in the middle of the race, before scorching away from her at the end of the fourth lap and extending her solo lead all the way to the finish after 46 minutes of racing in the sand and mud, with heavy snow really falling and settling on the course in the final two laps.
Bakker fought hard for her second place, with an early mechanical issue at the start of the second lap forcing her into an early chase and reducing her energy reserves, which showed when Alvarado eventually attacked her.
Alvarado bided her time after showing how she was stronger than Bakker in the sand, pushing on with two tidy laps once she got her lead thanks to a strong kick. Her eventual winning margin was 12 seconds.
"I think it's a very nice one, of course, with my late-season start and then all the injuries and bad luck I had so far, but I was riding today with a good feeling and no back issues," said Alvarado, before commenting on the mid-race snowfall.
"Yes, the conditions surprised me a little bit; it made it also hard seeing the lines in the sand with all that snow, but I think it's an extra."
Having led much of the opening lap, 23-year-old Julie Brouwers (Charles Liégeois-Deschacht) impressed again on Friday, yo-yoing off the back of the Alvarado-Bakker battle but still coming home in third, 26 seconds behind the leader.
As the snowstorm continued to fall on the finish line, Fleur Moors (Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions) ended the day in an impressive fourth, just ahead of Kristyna Zemanová (VIF) in fifth, having both been part of the early leading group.
With the dominant force of the women's CX season, Lucinda Brand, not on the start line, it allowed the likes of Alvarado and Bakker – who continues to wait for her first European win of the season – to shine, with the former defending her title from the Exact Cross in Mol from last year.
Results
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