{"id":204521,"date":"2026-01-12T12:35:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T12:35:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=204521"},"modified":"2026-01-12T12:35:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T12:35:42","slug":"nys-del-grosso-take-nationals-as-alvarado-wins-and-gery-upsets-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/01\/12\/nys-del-grosso-take-nationals-as-alvarado-wins-and-gery-upsets-in-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Nys, del Grosso Take Nationals, as Alvarado Wins and Gery Upsets in France"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Saturday and Sunday, national cyclocross championships were held across Europe, with the rising young superstars Thibau Nys and Tibor del Grosso winning the Elite Men\u2019s races in, respectively, Belgium and the Netherlands. In the Elite Women\u2019s races, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado upset defending champion Puck Pieterse and three-time winner Lucinda Brand, while in France, 20-year-old C\u00e9lia Gery upset odds-on favourite and in-form Amandine Fouquenet.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Nys and Norbert Riberolle strike gold again<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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In Beringen, Belgium, defending champion Nys (Baloise Verzekeringen\u2013Het Poetsbureau Lions) built up an early lead, but crashed on the fourth of seven laps and eventually allowed Emiel Verstringe (Crelan-Corendon) to catch him on lap 6. The two rode together to the finish line, with Nys having a bigger kick to take his second consecutive national title, 1 second ahead of Verstrynge, with Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw) completing the podium, at 53 seconds.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt was about riding to the finish as safely as possible,\u201d Nys told <\/span>Sporza<\/i><\/a><\/span> <\/i>afterwards. \u201cEmiel came up to my wheel, but it was so treacherous, and I didn’t want to take any risks. As a result, I lost seconds on every corner. That was the safest way to win the title, because I knew I had enough power for one last burst of energy\u2026 I’m really attached to this jersey and hope to wear it for a long time.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Chances are good that he will.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In Saturday\u2019s Belgian Elite Women\u2019s race, French-born <\/span>Marion Norbert Riberolle<\/span> (Crelan-Corendon) took advantage of a crash on a muddy curve by then-leader Fleurs Moors (<\/span>Baloise Verzekeringen\u2013Het Poetsbureau Lions<\/span>) on lap 3 of five, and rode the rest of the way on her own, to win her second title in a row. Moors finished second, 17 seconds adrift, with Kiona Crabb\u00e9 in third, at 1:25. As it was run a day earlier than the Elite Men\u2019s race, the riders faced hazardous conditions, in freezing temperatures and snow and ice covering the course.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Del Grosso and Alvarado snatch Dutch titles<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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In the Dutch town of Huijbergen, del Grosso \u2013 Mathieu van der Poel\u2019s teammate and disciple at Alpecin\u2013Premier Tech \u2013 also had to recover after a crash and then outride two Baloise Verzekeringen\u2013Het Poetsbureau Lions riders, Pim Ronhaar and four-time national champ Lars van der Haar, to claim his second consecutive title, with van der Poel sitting out the race to prepare for the world championships in three weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Del Grosso rode aggressively right from the start but could not open a gap until lap 2. When he dropped his chain in a crash, it allowed Ronhaar to come close to his wheel. He finally dropped him on the penultimate lap, but then had to withstand a final charge by van der Haar to defend his title, winning by a scant 3 seconds, with Ronhaar coming third, beaten by 46 seconds.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the Elite Women\u2019s race, Alvarado (Fenix\u2013Premier Tech) again proved to be the best in the cold, as she was one week earlier when she won the World Cup race at Zonhoven, after a thrilling race in the snow. There was far less snow in Huijbergen, but it was cold and, again, her main rivals were teammate and defending champion Pieterse and three-time Dutch champion Brand (<\/span>Baloise Verzekeringen\u2013Het Poetsbureau Lions).<\/span><\/p>\n

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P\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek sd\u00edlen\u00fd Ceylin del Carmen Jans-Alvarado \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf1 (@ceylinalvarado)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n