Everything about Fem van Empel

Who is Fem van Empel?

Fem van Empel, born September 25, 2002, is a Dutch cyclocross and road racer. She broke through as a young talent in cyclocross and has since won several World Cup races and World Championships. Van Empel is known for her explosive power, technical skills and strong performances on muddy and tough courses; currently racing for Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Her achievements have made her one of the top names in the sport.

Name: Fem van Empel
Birthday: September 3, 2022
Birthplace: 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands
Turned pro: 2020
Height: 1.73m

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Fem van Empel in race

Fem van Empel was born on September 3, 2002 in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. Despite being only 22 years old, she is already one of the biggest protagonists in the world of Cyclocross racing. Van Empel currently rides for Team Visma | Lease a Bike.

As a junior she had already shown talent, namely by placing within the Top15 of the Elite Waaslandcross Sint-Niklaas where she caught the attention of many at the age of 17. Van Empel was contracted by Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal for the 2020-2021 season, her first year as an under-23 rider. As she promised, it became a very successful season, with her first pro win coinciding with a world title, one she captured on Jan. 31, 2020 in Ostend, where she beat compatriot Aniek van Alphen and Kata Blanka Vas to take the rainbow stripes.

Despite it being her first year as an under-23, she rode only two events at that level, the second being the European Championships where she finished sixth. It was a season that served to gain important experience, with a pair of Top5 results in Kortrijk, Dendermonde, Baal, Hamme, Brussels and the Waaslandcross. That season she finished 6th in the X20 Bathrooms Trophy and 11th in the World Cup, despite being only 18 years old.

Before the start of the 2021-2022 season, she turned 19 and experienced an even more successful season. Once again she rode only the World Championships and European Championships with the under-23s, taking home a bronze medal on both occasions. In Val di Sole, she made history by becoming the youngest World Cup winner ever since Marianne Vos in 2004, when she beat Vos herself on the snowy track.

It didn't stop there, because a few weeks later in Flamanville, van Empel rode to a second World Cup victory. This time she defeated Puck Pieterse and Kata Blanka Vas, ensuring the youngest World Cup podium ever at Elite level, with the two Dutch riders being 19 years old and the Hungarian only 20. In addition to consistent performances, these results ensured that van Empel rode to the fourth position in the final World Cup standings. She appeared more often in the Top5 of races, but finished outside the Top10 in the Superprestige and X20 Baths as she put her focus elsewhere.

The 2022-2023 season will likely be her last year as an under-23 rider, but that hasn't stopped her from being the most dominant figure in the opening weeks of the season. With victories in the opening Polderscross and Exact Cross Beringen, she was at an extremely high level, able to beat Lucinda Brand, who held sway for most of last season. In the Exact Cross Meulebeke - Berencross, Brand took the sprint victory, but the battle would continue into the United States and the first World Cup rounds.

She is not a seasoned cycling pro, but has shown her talent, most notably with a third-place finish at the Under-23 European Championships in Anadia, Portugal. Van Empel has signed a two-year contract with Jumbo-Visma through 2024, making her a teammate of Marianne Vos and likely to have a bigger calendar on the road.

In Waterloo, van Empel took her third World Cup victory by beating Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Lucinda Brand in a very fast race. The following week, she solidified her lead when she withstood the attacks of Brand and Annemarie Worst to win in Fayetteville. As of mid-October 2022, she was leading the World Cup with two of two wins and had won four of her first five races of the season. That was just the beginning of her success. She won World Cups in Tabor, Maasmechelen, Antwerp, Dublin and Benidorm, where she also won the World Cup.

She also won several other races, including the European Championship in Namen and her first World Championship in Hoogerheide, where she beat Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Puck Pieterse, respectively. She won 16 races in the season including the Koppenbergcross, her last five races of the year, and the standings at both the World Cup and the X2O Badkamers Trofee. Van Empel became the undisputed strongest figure in cyclocross at the age of 20. On the road, she won a stage and sixth place in the Tour de l'Avenir Femmes. She made her Grand Tour debut at the Giro Donne where she finished 11th overall.

Cyclocross, however, was her main focus and in the 2023-2024 cyclocross season she started off the season strongly and was almost unbeatable all throughout the year. She won the European Championships in Pontchâteau, the World Championships in Hoogerheide; the X2O Badkamers Trofee; a total of 19 out of 21 races throughout the season, becoming the sports' dominator at age only 21 - much like Vos, who she is evolving into quite accurately.

She had a modest season on the road, but began the 2024-2025 cyclocross season with a bang with a triumph on the Beringen Exact Cross.