Fem van Empel after victory in Exact Cross Beringen - "I'm glad I was able to win like this"

The cyclocross season has started off well for Fem van Empel. She won Kruibeke last week and the Exact Cross today. She defeated Lucinda Branda in the final sprint to secure the top position at the podium.

Van Empel managed to lose Lucinda Brand halfway through the race but Brand eventually joined her in the last part and sprinted for victory. "When Lucinda is in the race, she always comes back. You can never write her off,” she told VTM.

She continues, "I then pushed her head on, but I knew it would be difficult. I wasn't as good as last week. I had some stomach problems before the start, but wanted to make the most of it. It was a lot warmer today than last week. I did give up. I basically had a good start, but let myself get pushed back a little bit. In the beginning it went a bit wrong."

But Van Empel remained calm, In the end, she got to taste the result of her hard work. "I knew the course was still long and that you can blow up very quickly here. I waited quietly. I'm glad I was able to win like this, though,” concluded Van Empel.