Run, fly, jump and keep going. On the fast course in Benidorm, Puck Pieterse and Fem van Empel fought an exciting duel. Only in the last meters did the world champion distinguish herself from her competitor with an ingenious maneuver. Ceylin Alvarado finished third and took the overall victory in the World Cup.
A glorified street race, with the occasional patch of grass and an artificial sandbox. That was on the menu in the World Cup Cross in Benidorm.
“I’m looking forward to it,” laughed Puck Pieterse before the start. The rest of the pack could sense this quickly. Fem van Empel was allowed to set the pace in the opening round, but then her compatriot took over.
Lap after lap, Pieterse tried to make a gap with small pricks on the beams, but the world champion refused to let go of her wheel. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado suddenly fell far behind the leaders.
Amid loud cheers from the Dutch and Belgian audience, the World Cup leader tried to close the gap. She succeeded for a moment, but with every acceleration she had to adjust again due to her minor back problems.
So Pieterse and Van Empel decided on the flying meeting under the Spanish sun. The women pulled out all the stops to retain the lead in a very exciting final round.
The world champion performed a daring, but very clever overtaking action. Her competitor could no longer formulate an answer and bowed her head after a short sprint. Good for Fem van Empel’s 15th victory this season.
A tired Alvarado completed the podium. With a final victory in the World Cup, her afternoon was also more than successful.
Fem van Empel: “It went super fast from start to finish. We made it a great race. I always go all the way for the win, luckily I was just able to squeeze past. We push each other to a higher level. That is necessary towards the World Cup. My maneuver was certainly a risk, but without risks it is not fun.”
Puck Pieterse: “I could have expected that Fem would want to overtake there. Even though she is the fastest in the motocross peloton, she still took distance even on the asphalt. I wanted to drive a little more to the right, but that bend was so wide. I couldn’t not being everywhere at the same time. I thought it was cool. It was a kind of criterion in which you had to think a lot tactically. Really cool.”
Ceylin Alvarado: “I am very happy with the World Cup ranking. Finally I have won that title. That was the only thing missing in my career. It was a tough cross for me, especially after my chain came loose before the long asphalt strip But I wasn’t good enough today to beat Fem and Puck.”
2024-01-21 13:50:43
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