Alvarado unhappy with Bäckstedt after nasty shoving: "She was pushing her bike against me"

Cyclo-cross
Saturday, 04 January 2025 at 18:27
alvarado backstedt

Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado lost her lead in the Superprestige standings on Saturday after finishing third in Gullegem. The Dutch rider from Alpecin-Deceuninck had to concede the top spot to new leader Lucinda Brand and was narrowly beaten in a photo finish by young Zoe Bäckstedt. The British rider stood her ground in the final corners.

Alvarado seemed poised for victory for much of the race, but an impressive final lap from Brand relegated her to a battle for second place. Even that position slipped away as Bäckstedt surged on the final muddy running section. The 20-year-old Canyon//SRAM rider showed no hesitation, overtaking Alvarado and aggressively cutting towards the barriers, leading to a shoulder-to-shoulder tussle.

"She passed me and immediately cut me off, right towards my line," Alvarado explained after the race about the incident. "She was pushing her bike against me, and I didn’t like that very much, to be honest. She could’ve done it, sure, but maybe a little farther down the course. I tried to nudge her back onto her line—that’s all it was."

"I’m not sure if it affected the final result. We sprinted all the way to the finish, so I have no idea," she continued. Alvarado also saw Brand’s surge coming in the final lap. "She never really trailed by more than ten seconds. I tried to push the pace myself, but it didn’t work, so you know what that means. I just didn’t have more to give today, so it was always going to be tough when she came back."

Read more below the photo.

zoe backstedt
Zoe Bäckstedt came out excellent in Gullegem

Bäckstedt responds to Alvarado’s push

"I'm very satisfied, that’s for sure," Bäckstedt said during her flash interview. The British rider held her own among the top contenders, although Brand proved to be on another level in the final lap. "I expected her to catch up at some point, because on a course like this, her power makes her incredibly strong. It was tailor-made for her, so when she joined, it was just a matter of hanging on. That didn’t last too long, and then it became a fight for second place."

That fight turned almost literal, but Bäckstedt brushed off the push from Alvarado. "I passed her as we entered the run-up section, and after that, it was a battle to the finish. She came over me in the final chicane, but luckily I had enough power to secure second place. Let’s hope for more running sections on Sunday!"

Bäckstedt’s form is clearly building. Her second place in Gullegem was already hinted at by Brand. In her last four races, she hasn’t finished outside the top five, with podiums in Zonhoven (second) and Dublin (third). The World Championships remain the ultimate goal for this multi-talented rider, although she’ll once again compete in the U23 category, just like last year.

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