With a strong performance and a hard-fought race, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado crossed the finish line second at the European Cyclocross Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. A nail-biting final sprint ultimately won by two-time world champion Fem van Empel.
“Played my cards, result was bittersweet. Sometimes the gamble doesn’t pay off, but the grind was worth it,” wrote the 26-year-old Dutch rider in an Instagram post. While it wasn’t the outcome she expected, Alvarado said she was happy with the work done.
Alvarado went full-throttle through out the 3,350-meters long circuit. “I tried to make it difficult for everyone. I think that I really succeeded towards the end, but in the end, it is all about whether you have a sprint or not. And there was someone with a better sprint,” she said in a post-race interview.
