27 January 2020

Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado admits she 'wanted to cry' after crashing on final lap of cyclo-cross World Cup race

Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado suffered a heartbreaking crash in the final lap of the last race of the season to lose the cyclo-cross World Cup title.

The 21-year-old, who held a five point lead over rival Annemarie Worst heading into the grand finale in The Netherlands, was looking to defend her first place for just a few more hours of racing.

But with the overall classification appearing to be set up for a sprint finish to decide the champion, a slight error from Alvarado meant she came off her bike and in turn lost the overall victory.

Speaking to Cycling News after the crash, she said: "Well, I crashed. That’s obvious. It was just a little mistake that I made myself. I was in good form and condition so it’s a bit hard to know that I lost the overall ranking because of my own mistake.

"My front wheel just went a bit down and there was some loose sand. I didn’t have control and then it was over. There was a chance of coming back but, after the crash, my chain dropped. Then it was really over for me. Up until the fall I really had no problems."

However, despite the devastating circumstances in which Alvarado lost the World Cup, she is adamant she will not it deter her from attempting to win the world championships this weekend.

"I want to cry about it but there’s still a big deal coming up next weekend," she added. "This isn’t the end of the world but it gives me great motivation for the worlds."

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