Fem van Empel dominates World Cup Antwerpen and takes over cup lead; Brand and Schreiber on the podium
Cyclocross
The sandy course of the World Cup Antwerpen gave way for Fem van Empel to win the first round of the key cup this Sunday. The World Champion has taken over the cup lead after a great solo win, unmatched in the Belgian course.
The race started off with a classic holeshot from Marie Schreiber with gaps opening quite quickly in the very technical and sandy course of Antwerpen. Lucinda Brand and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado had a poor start and by the time Fem van Empel hit the front with 7 minutes of racing, her main rivals were nowhere to be seen, and van Empel attacked Schreiber to go solo in the second lap.
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Van Empel was completely in control, technically riding a superb race that saw her increase her gap by the lap, whilst the rest of the field rode for secondary spot. Van Empel won the first round of the World Cup and takes over the lead, on the day she also shared that she will only miss one round which will be the Italian race in Cabras.
Lucinda Brand rode a consistent race with a strong pace and within the competition, she was the one coming closest to van Empel, racing to send on the day, whilst Marie Schreiber completed a very strong ride to finish on the podium of a World Cup race for the second time in her career. Sara Casasola and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado finished fourth and fifth on the day.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- Ernesto Maggioni - The president of the commissaires Mafia. It is getting evident that this guy is basically "Iamalwaysrightandyouarestupidsoiwontlistentoyou" kind of guy. So fire him so that he can be always right in his homeabstractengineer10-11-2026
- Somehow it has got into his mind that he is a GC rider. He is primarily a classics and stage rider who can perform on GC given his day. As a result he is wasting his time on TDF GC and once committed to GC you are too tired to do anything else.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- 🐐❤️Lozza09-11-2026
- This is such a black eye to women's professional cyclocross if this result remains. Marie Schreiber won this race fairly. This finish is not unlike others in cyclocross. Lots of moving around to get to the finish not to cut anyone off , but to generate a sprint on soft wide tires caked with mud and sand. This is not nearly the same as a road race between two riders sprinting to the finish on faster bikes and thinner firmer tires. The powers in charge need to use some common sense, reverse this result and remember this is Cyclocross not Road racing. Unbelievable. . .Zencycle09-11-2026
- Tis beyond your comprehension fine sir so best not to look on with blind eyes to THE GOATS greatness.
Brucegel09-11-2026 - McNulty winning was beneficial in ensuring the rainbow jersey would not remain winless
Front24209-11-2026 - Eccelente! That's 7 riders in total in Red Bull who come from the devo team, 8 if you include Lipo
Rafionain-Glas09-11-2026 - again, nothing is going to be resolved. it is a discussion board. I simply said I didn't see how MS impeded LBs sprint. the UCI doesn't care about my thoughts, and I am really not that emotionally invested in it.mij09-11-2026
- provoke change, lol. this is a discussion board. nothing is going to change by what I say here. just commenting that it didn't look like MS impeded Brand. beyond that not trying to go too deep.mij09-11-2026
- as excellent as maga rednecks chloe dygert (and quinn simmons)?Ketterechts09-11-2026
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