Alvarado ends Brand's winning streak, and Van der Poel reigns supreme at snowy Zonhoven
The ninth round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup saw a blockbuster day of racing at the fan-favourite Zonhoven, which had been turned into a winter wonderland. The particularly unpredictable conditions, with snow and ice complicating the already challenging course, made all four events especially compelling.
The elite women's race was the day's highlight as Puck Pieterse, Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado, and of course Lucinda Brand fought over the top spot. No one could afford to make a mistake, which is a tall order at Zonhoven even in good conditions, and none of them was able to enjoy a clean run, with crashes, mechanical issues and human error punctuating the six-lap race. In the end, Alvarado mastered the combination of skill, power and luck, soloing to victory after Brand faltered while attempting to attack. The World Cup leader's winning streak was over, but her series leadership and run of consecutive podium finishes are both alive and well.
Two days after Wout van Aert broke his ankle during a scintillating duel with Mathieu van der Poel, the latter turned up at a snowy Zonhoven the overwhelming favourite, not least given he'd won here five times before. Given the conditions, which were getting more and more treacherous, it was no surprise that the world champion made sure to go clear early, ensuring a safe hour on the tools. It took less than five minutes for him to get the job done, and by the end of the day, he was into the World Cup leader's jersey to boot.
Behind him, the fight for second was a real rollercoaster. Thibau Nys looked good to retake the World Cup lead from the injured Laurens Sweeck, but then a fairly innocuous tumble broke the Belgian's handlebars and dropped him out of the top 20 (he finished 19th, collecting only 7 points). Meanwhile, Tibor Del Grosso was looking better and better, eventually overcoming a crash and riding away from third-best Emiel Verstrynge to take second behind his teammate.
This and the past week of racing will be covered more extensively in Escape Collective's last Kerstperiode gallery of the season later today.
Elite women’s top 5 Zonhoven
- Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Premier Tech) 51:33
- Lucinda Brand (Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions) +0:23
- Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) +0:49
- Amandine Fouquenet Pauwels Sauzen-Altez) +1:27
- Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions) +1:39
Elite men’s top 5 Zonhoven
- Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) 59:36
- Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Premier Tech) +0:45
- Emiel Verstrynge (Crelan-Corendon) +1:03
- Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Premier Tech) +1:18
- Toon Aerts (Charles Liégeois-Deschacht) “
Junior women’s top 5 Zonhoven
- Giorgia Pellizotti (Italy) 38:33
- Rianne Nieuwenhuis (Netherlands) +1:06
- Zita Peeters (Belgium) +1:38
- Nynke Jochems (Netherlands) +1:48
- Alexa Haviland (Canada) +2:09
Junior men’s top 5 Zonhoven
- Filippo Grigolini (Italy) 40:31
- Jari Van Lee (Belgium) +0:10
- Noël Goijert (Netherlands) +0:20
- Jop van den Biggelaar (Netherlands) +0:42
- Giovanni Bosio (Italy) +1:18
