After a disrupted season due to illness and a persistent knee problem, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Premier Tech) returned to winning ways and scored her first victory of the 2025-26 cyclo-cross season at a snowy edition of the Exact Cross in Mol.

Alvarado battled closely with Manon Bakker (Crelan-Corendon) in the middle of the race, before scorching away from her at the end of the fourth lap and extending her solo lead all the way to the finish after 46 minutes of racing in the sand and mud, with heavy snow really falling and settling on the course in the final two laps.

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Having led much of the opening lap, 23-year-old Julie Brouwers (Charles Liégeois-Deschacht) impressed again on Friday, yo-yoing off the back of the Alvarado-Bakker battle but still coming home in third, 26 seconds behind the leader.

As the snowstorm continued to fall on the finish line, Fleur Moors (Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions) ended the day in an impressive fourth, just ahead of Kristyna Zemanová (VIF) in fifth, having both been part of the early leading group.

With the dominant force of the women’s CX season, Lucinda Brand, not on the start line, it allowed the likes of Alvarado and Bakker – who continues to wait for her first European win of the season – to shine, with the former defending her title from the Exact Cross in Mol from last year.

FirstCycling