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Dutch cross sensation Alvarado wins first national title, van der Poel earns sixth

Sanne Cant nabs eleventh consecutive Belgian title

January 12, 2020
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Dutch cross sensation Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado is on fire this season, leading the World Cup, Superprestige and DVV Trofee series and atop the UCI elite women’s rankings. On Sunday, she reached an important milestone of her career, winning the national elite women’s title in Rucphen. On the elite men’s side, Mathieu van der Poel keeps steamrolling along, earning his sixth national title.

The competitions in the Netherlands were part of a weekend of European nationals. In Antwerp, Belgium, Sanne Cant got her mojo working again as she took her eleventh consecutive championship. World champion Cant has two wins on her 2019-2020 palmares but none in the the World Cup, Superprestige or DVV Trofee series. Also in Antwerp, two-time runner-up Laurens Sweeck enjoyed the biggest triumph on his career, beating Eli Iserbyt by 30-seconds. Wout Van Aert, still riding himself back into form, was fifth.

A selection of other results: up-and-comer Tom Pidcock repeated as British elite men’s champion, Eva Lechner did a Sanne Cant by winning her eleventh Italian title, and Astana’s 2018 Spanish national road champ Gorka Izagirre was third in his country’s cross national.

The nationals action was not limited to cross. Australia held its road championships in Buninyong, and once again Mitchelton-Scott riders were prominent. Amanda Spratt earned her third title since 2012 and Cameron Meyer was over the moon after winning his first.

Spratt will defend her Santos Women’s Tour Down Under title January 16-19, with Canadians Leah Kirchmann, Sara Bergen and Sara Poidevin also slated to race, and Meyer will line up in the men’s Tour Down Under January 21-26.