Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado

Debut in 2016

Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, originally from the Dominican Republic, began her cycling career modestly in 2016. She started competing in cyclo-cross races, and over the years, her results steadily improved. In 2017, she won her first race, but it wasn’t until 2019 that her career truly took off. Following a strong eighth-place finish in the 2018/19 season, Alvarado had an outstanding start to the 2019/20 season, becoming European U23 champion in November 2019.

Cyclo-cross world champion

Although she won the U23 European Championship at the end of 2019, Alvarado decided to compete at the elite level for the 2020 Cyclo-cross World Championships. In January, she had already claimed the Dutch national title among the elites, so it was expected that she would attempt to compete at the top level on the world stage.

At the World Championships, Alvarado continued her strong form from the beginning of the season. In early February, she crowned herself the elite women’s cyclo-cross world champion, firmly establishing her name at the top of the sport. Throughout 2020, she collected numerous victories and comfortably led the UCI rankings.

Physical setbacks trigger challenging period

The following season started well for Alvarado, and in early November, she won the European Championship at the elite level for the first time. However, her results began to decline afterward. She finished sixth at the World Championships and couldn’t defend her title in the Superprestige, where she placed second overall, as well as in the World Cup standings, both times behind Lucinda Brand. Alvarado also failed to retain her X2O Trophy title.

The subsequent season was even more challenging for Alvarado. Plagued by injuries, she missed the podium at both the European and World Championships, and placed third in the Dutch National Championships. She finished fifteenth in the World Cup standings and tenth in the Superprestige.

Comeback

Starting with the 2022/23 season, Alvarado, now racing for Alpecin-Deceuninck, showed signs of a comeback. She finished second in both the Dutch National Championships and the European Championships, and claimed the Superprestige overall title for the second time in her career. Looking forward to the new season, Alvarado was confident she could return to her best form, which she proved by securing victories again in the winter of 2023/2024.