Dangerous circumstances at the Superprestige in Gullegem. Due to subzero temperatures, the ground froze for the first time this cycling season, covered in a layer of mud destroyed by the reconnaissance towers.
And this betrayal was immediately evident from the first turn, with a fall and a small pile-up at the back of the starting peloton. At the same time, the strongest women in the race also immediately asserted themselves, with Zoë Backstedt, Leonie Bentveld and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado who were the first to dive into the peloton and immediately managed to create a small gap.
The elastic
Shortly after, Lucinda Brand, Sanne Cant, Aniek van Alphen and Marion Norbert-Riberolle managed to join the three women in the lead, but after 10 minutes of crossing, it was the first three who managed to widen the gap again and Brand who From that point on, she covered almost the entire cross country in 10 seconds on her own.
Until the last lap, where the Dutch champion managed to reconnect and immediately took the lead. She increased the pressure, which caused some small errors from Backstedt and Alvarado. The lead grew bigger and bigger, and where she was initially behind, she now suddenly had 10 seconds in her favor.
A sporting push
Behind Brand, the fight was still fierce for the remaining places on the podium between Alvarado and Backstedt. Bentveld had already had to put his head down, and Alvarado seemed to be the best on this bike, but walking through the mud, the Brits quickly gained momentum. She even passed Alpecin-Deceuninck’s wife and tried to walk in front of her, but Alvarado didn’t like it. A little help from the Dutch to put Backstedt back on his own path.
During subsequent interviews, Alvarado and Backstedt were asked about that moment, but both women appeared unimpressed.
Photo finish
Almost at the same time, both men got on their bikes, heading towards the final straight and thus the sprint for second place, with Brand already celebrating his victory.
The sprint between Backstedt and Alvarado went smoothly and a photo finish was even necessary to determine the “winner”. A photo that turned out to be in favor of Backstedt.
Where are you looking?
The entire winter 2024/2025 cyclo-cross can be followed via Eurosport and HBO Max! You are in the right place for the World Cup, the Superprestige, the X2O Trophy and even the Exact Cross! The icing on the cake is that you will also be able to follow the European and World Championships live with us!
