Fem van Empel from Sint-Michielsgestel has made an impressive comeback in cyclocross. Two weeks after her painful fall in the World Cup of Val di Sole, the 20-year-old European champion was unapproachable on New Year’s Day in the Grand Prix Sven Nys in Baal. She soloed on a very muddy course to her eleventh victory of the season.
For Van Empel it was also her first victory for her new employer. She made her debut in Baal in the shirt of Jumbo-Visma. The cyclocross rider said before the start that she mainly wanted to test her form in Baal. She had been away for two weeks and wasn’t quite sure how she was doing. In the first round it quickly became clear that Van Empel was by far the strongest. She was the only one who steered her bike almost effortlessly over the muddy strips.
Gone soon
Van Empel broke away from the competition on a muddy slope halfway through the first lap and gradually distanced himself. Lucinda Brand tried to set up a chase, but the Rotterdam former world champion toiled on the course and soon realized that second place was the highest achievable. She arrived 2 minutes behind. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado turned it into a full Dutch podium by finishing third at 2.27 from winner Van Empel.
“I enjoyed today”, said Van Empel shortly after her victory at Sporza. “Although I am surprised that it went so easily, because usually I have to get into my rhythm first when I have been away for a while. I would have preferred to have had a bit more battle with the others, because that is also good for building up the condition. I have now made something of it myself. On some parts I drove hard, but I didn’t have to go flat out.”
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