Dutch champion Alvarado claims first cyclocross win of 2026 in Heerde in Brand's absence

The cyclocross season is well underway. Lucinda Brand has already made her mark on the season with two victories. But Marie Schreiber proved to be her superior, particularly in Woerden. And don’t forget Fem van Empel’s comeback: so much has already happened this month. We stayed in the Netherlands for the race in Heerde, held on Heerderstrand.

And that happened without world champion Brand and her challenger Schreiber. Van Empel, Dutch champion Ceylin Alvarado (Fenix-Premier Tech), and Leonie Bentveld (Pauwels Sauzen - Altez) were there, though.

Hélène Clauzel (777), known for her strong starts, got off to the best start, but Van Empel immediately showed her ambitions and took the lead early on with a beautiful passing move. Bentveld, the U23 world champion, followed, while Clauzel and Alvarado weren’t far behind either.

Van Empel immediately showed off the colours of her new team, Specialized-TMRW. After a bike change, she fell back a bit, and there were a few mistakes to be spotted in the Dutch rider’s aggressive racing style.

Her drive to be the best again was clearly strong. Denise Betsema (De Ceuster Bouwkranen) took the lead and was the only one to ride across the beach, while the rest took the shortcut. This gave her a nice lead.

After two laps, she had a 12-second lead over the first group of pursuers, while Van Empel was already 20 seconds behind. Alvarado then opened up the throttle and rode alongside Manon Bakker toward Betsema.

After a lap to recover, the Dutch champion launched her attack on the sand and opened up a gap on her two rivals. It was clear, however, that this trio would battle it out for the win.

Betsema and Bakker proved to be tenacious and were able to catch up with Alvarado again. They were neck and neck, and entered the final lap together. Suddenly, Aniek van Alphen (777) appeared as well, having closed a large gap in her solo run.

Could she still catch up? Alvarado put Bakker in trouble and pulled ahead on the tricky sandy sections.

That’s how the Dutch champion pulled away from her rivals at the crucial moments. She was just a bit better, both technically and in terms of strength, and that’s how she claimed her first victory of the cyclocross season.

Behind Alvarado, Betsema finished second, ahead of the rapidly rising Van Alphen, who pushed Bakker off the podium.

1. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado

3. Aniek van Alphen