A detailed look at the 22-year-old European champion's cyclo-cross bike
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Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado poses with her Canyon Inflite 'cross bike ahead of the world championships in Oostende(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
The bike was put through its paces on the Belgian beach(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
Fitted with the range-topping Dura-Ace Di2 disc groupset from Shimano(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
As is now commonplace, disc brakes provided Alvarado's stopping power(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
Despite the popularity of 1X groupsets, many riders have returned to 2X chainsets this year...(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
...most likely due to the reliable performance of today's electronic groupsets(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
Shimano XTR pedals provide the first of three touchpoints(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
Rubber chainstay protectors are used to prevent paint chips caused by chain slap over rough ground(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
Quick-release adaptors speed up wheel changes for the bike's thru axles(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
The frame features a kinked top tube, designed for easy shouldering of the bike(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
The bike's model name lives on the frame's kink(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
Selle Italia's X-LR Superflow saddle is Alvarado's perch of choice(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
The Di2 junction box is, perhaps surprisingly, positioned under the stem(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
Shimano does supply a junction box that fits here, but Alvarado's mechanics have opted for the under-stem unit(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
The Selle Italia bar tape has been backwards wrapped(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
FMB supplies Alvarado with its Slalom tyres(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
...complete with her name printed on the sidewall(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
Perhaps due to superstition, part of the world-champion's rainbow has been coloured over(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
With an externally cabled cockpit, heat shrink is used to tidy things up(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
From above, the one-piece H11 cockpit retains a clean aesthetic(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
Alvarado's name lives on the top tube(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
The bike's brand logo lives on the chainstays as well as the down tube(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
Tyre tread tells us this is the FMB Slalom tyre(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
Dura-Ace is still an 11-speed group, but rumours of a new 12-speed option remain rife(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
Post-race, that gleaming, clean white paintjob has been ruined(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
The front mech lives on... somewhere under there(Image credit: Joris Knapen)
A world champion at just 21 years of age and an already countless number of wins in her short career to date, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado is one of the biggest prospects in cycling.
The 22-year-old Dutchwoman might only be young, but she's cemented her place among the best in her discipline and throughout the 2020/21 'cross season, she has repeatedly justified the rainbow jersey she won in Dübendorf last February.
Her season started strongly with a domination at Superprestige Gieten, backed up with a win at Ruddervoorde. She continued the good vein of form by adding a European title to her Worlds win in early December, then went three-for-three at Herentals, GP Sven Nys and Flandriencross to win the X²O Badkamers Trofee.
She's also had a share of bad luck throughout the season. Her rivalry with Lucinda Brand reached new heights when a pit incident - for which Brand was later fined - left the world champion "pissed off." A mere six days later, it wasn't the competitors but the course that derailed Alvarado's race, when a wire became tangled in her cassette and rear mech, forcing her to stop for a full minute mid-race.
Despite failing to successfully defend her World Championship title in Oostende - a title which now goes to Lucinda Brand - Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado has a bright future ahead in both cyclo-cross and on the road, with Ciclismo Mundial.
Since 2017, Alvarado has ridden for the Belgian outfit known today as Alpecin-Fenix. For the duration of which, she has ridden Canyon's Inflite CF SLX - similar to Mathieu van der Poel's 'cross bike.
Like Van der Poel, Alvarado's 'cross bike is decked out with Shimano's range-topping Dura-Ace Di2 disc brake groupset, complete with Dura-Ace tubular wheels wrapped in handmade tubular tyres from French company FMB - using the brand's Slalom model - though effectively one-upping her compatriot by having her name printed onto the tan sidewalls.
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Chainrings come courtesy of Wickwerks, a brand specialising in chainrings with aggressively profiled teeth for optimised shifting - as also found on Katie Compton's custom-painted Trek Boone.
At the end of the Dura-Ace cranks, Shimano's XTR mountain bike pedals provide the first of three touchpoints. The other two touchpoints come courtesy of Selle Italia. Her saddle of choice is the X-LR Superflow, and her Smootape bar tape has been backwards-wrapped.
Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
