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Mathieu van der Poel performs during round 5 of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Koksijde, Belgium on November 24, 2019
© Balint Hamvas/Red Bull Content Pool
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado triumphant in Koksijde
There were wins from both ends of the spectrum at the UCI Cyclo-cross in Belgium, with van der Poel adding to his incredible record in 2019 and del Carmen Alvarado taking her first World Cup victory.
By Matt Ogborn
2 min readPublished on
Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel continued his amazing 2019 bike dominance with his second consecutive 2019/2020 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup win at the Koksijde stop in Belgium.
Van der Poel sat out the first three rounds of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup season to focus on his road cycling, which paid off handsomely with a superb Tour of Britain victory in the wake of classic wins at Amstel Gold Race, Dwars door Vlaanderen and Brabantse Pijl. The 24-year-old also pushed Swiss XCO legend Nino Schurter hard in the 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup title race thanks to three victories and a second place.
Watch the moment he sealed the win in Koksijde below:
1 minMen's CX finish – KoksijdeWatch as the top riders reach the finish line of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup stop in Koksijde, Belgium.
Watch
Back in cyclo-cross, Van der Poel came into the fifth round of the 2019/2020 World Cup season buoyed by his victory at last week's Czech Republic stop in Tabor. He started badly this time around, but stormed back to pass the whole field during a spectacular opening lap before pulling clear to win from Belgium's Laurens Sweeck and Belgian champion Toon Aerts.
He revealed: "It was definitely one of my best first laps ever. I got stuck behind a crash in the first corner and I wanted to take my time to get back to the front, but I felt immediately that I had really good legs. Before I knew it, I was back in second. I rode my own race. That's always a good idea in the sand. It's the easiest way. Of course, one day I'm going to lose one. You can't win them all. I'm already very proud of what I achieved the past few weeks."
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado performs during round 5 of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Koksijde, Belgium on November 24, 2019
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado© Balint Hamvas/Red Bull Content Pool
The women's race saw a first victory for 21-year-old Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado of the Netherlands. The reigning European U23 champion held off the challenge of compatriots Yara Kastelijn and Lucinda Brand to claim the win. Current World Cup leader Katerina Nash struggled in the sand, finishing down in 14th.
See Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado claim her first World Cup:
2 minWomen's CX finish – BelgiumWatch as the top riders battle it out for their place across the finish line in Koksijde, Belgium.
Watch
Speaking after the race, del Carmen Alvarado said: "This is massive, it’s unbelievable. This is a great race: getting my first-ever World Cup victory as an U23-rider in the elite category is really fantastic."
Watch both of Sunday's races in full right here:
Cycling