Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado thought she was sprinting against Lucinda Brand for the European Championship title

Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado thought she was going to sprint for the European title in Pontevedra with Lucinda Brand. She was disappointed, because it turned out to be world champion Fem van Empel and she turned out to be faster than Alvarado. “And that was a more difficult story,” she told afterwards NOS.

In the final round, Alvarado competed for the European title with Van Empel, Brand and the Italian Sara Casasola. In the technical final, the Fenix-Deceuninck rider took the lead, making her the first to turn onto the final straight line. “To be completely honest, I’ve never looked back. It was full throttle all the way to the finish. I actually thought Lucinda was behind me and I was sure that I would possibly win the sprint, but it was Fem.”

“And that was a more difficult story,” Alvarado explained. “I knew that whether it would be a quiet race or a full-throttle race, a sprint against Fem would be very difficult. Because she just has a very fast sprint. And I was also a bit exhausted towards the end.”

Ultimately, Alvarado had to settle for silver behind Van Empel. “It went really well, I am very satisfied with my race. I tried to make it difficult for everyone. I think it really worked towards the end, but at the end it’s all about whether you have a sprint or not. And there was one with a better sprint,” was her conclusion afterwards.