Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado wins the women's elite race of the Superprestige Gullegem(Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Denise Betsema and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado battle on the wet course of the Superprestige Gullegem(Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Inge van der Heijden during Superprestige Gullegem(Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Zoe Backstedt during Superprestige Gullegem(Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win in Gullegem (Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Elite women's podium (L to R): Second-placed Inge van der Heijden, winner Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and third-placed Denise Betsema (Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck) claimed an emphatic victory at Superprestige Gullegem after she forged clear early on and held off Inge van der Heijden (777) to win by 35 seconds.
Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) took third at 45 seconds, ahead of Zoe Bäckstedt (EF Education-TIBO-SVB) and Sanne Cant (Crelan-Fristads).
The win brings Alvarado a step closer to overall victory in the season-long Superprestige standings, while it also underlined her form ahead of next week’s national championships.
With neither Fem van Empel nor Puck Pieterse in action, Alvarado was the obvious favourite in Gullegem and she duly lived up to expectations with an assured display in the rain.
Not for the first time this season, Bäckstedt was a fast starter, with the Briton seizing the initiative in the early stages and leading after lap, though Alvarado and Betsema were close behind, with Van der Heijden – second in the overall standings – giving pursuit.
On the second lap, Alvarado jumped across to Bäckstedt and then soared clear with what proved to be the winning move. Behind, a chasing group of three took shape, with Bäckstedt joined by Betsema and Van der Heijden.
For a time, the trio remained within touching distance of Alvarado, but her quality eventually began to tell, and on the fourth of seven laps, she stretched her advantage out to 24 seconds.
Van der Heijden and Betsema would later shake off Bäckstedt but they couldn’t make any inroads into Alvarado’s lead. Come the bell, the race was for first was all but over, and the suspense was instead provided by the duel for the second step of the podium.
“When the gap was ten or fifteen seconds, I knew that the lead would be gone in no time with a small mistake,” Alvarado said. “When I saw that it was over twenty seconds, I was able to manage the lead. On the last two rounds I was a bit more comfortable.”
At various points, Van der Heijden looked to have the upper hand in the race for second, but Betsema proved a determined competitor. On the last lap, Van der Heijden eventually established a small gap, which grew further when Betsema swung into the pits for a last bike change.
At the finish, Van der Heijden came in 35 seconds behind the flying Alvarado, while Betsema was a further 10 seconds back in third. Bäckstedt, so generous in early efforts, had the strength to come fourth at 1:13, while Cant in fifth was the only other rider to finish within three minutes of Alvarado.
Van der Heijden is now four points behind Alvarado in the Superprestige standings, though she picked up an additional point on the third-placed Betsema on Saturday. “Something really needs to happen if I want to win, but I'm happy with second place,” Van der Heijden said. “I am happy that I have taken an extra point compared to Denise Betsema.”
Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
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