Rafaelle Carrier wins Hexia Cyclocross in Gullegem

Quebec junior Rafaelle Carrier landed her first European win on Saturday in Belgium. The Pan Am continental champion sailed to a solid 1:44 winning margin at the Hexia Cyclocross round in Gullegem.

The win is far from Carrier’s first success this season, though it is her first win since joining the Pivot Cycles-OTE team in January. The Quebec racer already has junior World Cup top-10s from late in 2023, finished as the top junior on a few other occasions. That includes, spectacularly, a top 10 among the elite women at the GP Sven Nys round of X20 Troffee series in Baal. Being first across the line, though, is always something special.

Six stars of Canadian cyclocross

Saturday’s win in Gullegem adds to a phenomenal fall cyclocross season in North America. Carrier not only won Pan American continental championships in Montana and Canadian cyclocross championships in Victoria, B.C.. She also won the USCX series, where she was one win away from a perfect sweep of the eight-race U.S. series.