Fem van Empel has closed her top season in style. The 20-year-old cyclocross rider from Den Dungen soloed in her rainbow jersey in Brussels to win the final match of the X2O trophy and thus also secured the overall victory in the standings. Van Empel also won the World Cup and the World Cup in Hoogerheide this season.
“I never expected all this before the season,” said Van Empel after the game. “I am a bit surprised by my performance. This feels very good. I also worked hard for it.”
Van Empel, who cycles for Jumbo-Visma, defended a comfortable lead of 1 minute and 49 seconds over Lucinda Brand in the final race. Van Empel took off right after the start and got Brand on board. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, number 3 in the ranking and three-time winner in Brussels, thought that there had been a false start.
Despite protests from the Rotterdam, the race management did not intervene. Alvarado had to work his way up from the rear to the front in the race over seven laps. She came no further than fourth place, 1 minute and 45 seconds behind winner Van Empel.
The world champion drove away from Brand after a few rounds and soloed to victory. Brand finished second at 47 seconds, Annemarie Worst was third at over 1 minute.
Training again tomorrow
“I’ve had two weeks of rest, I have to go back to training on Monday,” said the unapproachable Dutch. “My trainer said ‘take it easy today to finish’. But I did the opposite.”
Cyclocross World Championships
In fact, Van Empel’s season could not go wrong since she won the cyclocross World Cup in Hoogerheide at the beginning of this month. “It’s quite emotional with all the family that has come to watch and the pressure is now off my shoulders,” she said after the win.
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