Large group entertains Superprestige Merksplas, Alvarado keeps her cool and accelerates to victory at right moment

Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado won a very entertaining Superprestige in Merksplas. The Fenix-Deceuninck rider was the strongest in the Aardbeiencross. After a battle with Lucinda Brand and Marie Schreiber, the Dutch rider prevailed in a fun and exciting race for a long time.

Regarding the first weeks in the field, the women's race seems more open than last season. With Fem van Empel still absent, it was expected to once again turn into a battle between Del Carmen Alvarado and Brand. At 7:40 a.m., the ladies kicked off. Brand and Alvarado did not make a fast start, but Marie Schreiber accelerated fast in the first lap. She was followed closely by Zoë Backstedt.

Schreiber's acceleration was more severe than expected: she immediately went solo. She crossed the line after lap one with a lead of about seven seconds over the rest of the top finishers. Alvarado and Brand had to warm up, although the latter had already briefly demonstrated her class in the sandbox. During the second lap, the Dutch riders moved to the front, side by side.

Round two was thus dominated by Brand and Alvarado's departure from the elite group. Fairly quickly, they pulled behind the Luxembourg champion from SD Worx-Protime. In doing so, Alvarado seemed slightly stronger than Brand. Behind them, Backstedt and Sara Casasola, impressed by sprinting through the sand, also moved forward, so the bunch pushed back together, and we had five leaders. Backstedt fell away on lap three while several ladies went past her, including Annemarie Worst. So, an exciting Merksplas race!

Lap four was characterized by a large group of ladies at the front. Inge van der Heijden also joined in again. On one of the few small climbs, Brand had a ten-meter lead, but behind her, Van der Heijden fell back, preventing the rest from continuing. This suddenly gave Brand a gap of about five seconds. Could she hold it? The answer was no. Alvarado returned quickly and showed her strength. Van der Heijden also rejoined, and so we had three in front.

And yet again, the course proved not selective enough; Casasola, Worst, and Schreiber also returned. The end of the second-to-last lap was too much for Alvarado: she placed a furious acceleration as the rest gasped for breath. Brand had a lesser moment and had to hang onto Schreiber's wheel. It's too little too late. Alvarado kept pedaling steadily and survived the hills, stairs, and sandbox. Although the Dutch champion chased her, it was too late—another win for the lady who started the year so well. Brand finished in second place, Schreiber in third.