Fem van Empel lets go World Cup and prioritizes X2O Badkamers Trofee: "I have made choices before the season and I want to stick to them"

Fem van Empel has won round 2 of the X20 Badkamers Trofee and admitted that in terms of cups it was her main goal of the season. The Dutch rider skips the Dublin World Cup, and won in Kortrijk this Saturday after another very strong performance.

“In terms of course, this was perhaps the most difficult to win. It was quite difficult to really get away from here. Especially with the many straight sections. The wind also played a role, especially at the start/finish the wind was really against us. Then there is always an advantage if you ride with several people," van Empel said in a post-race interview. The World Champion actually crashed in the first minutes of the race and had to make a comeback: "Of course it's never nice when you lose your rhythm, but I tried not to worry too much and keep my focus as best as possible. Whether the damage from the fall is not too bad? It may be a bit stiff tomorrow, but with adrenaline in your body you can do a lot.”

After making it back to the front and Puck Pieterse, Lucinda Brand - who would go on to ride into second on the day - launched an attack. “You should never keep your legs still against Brand. Brand is a fighter," she says. However she eventually caught her compatriot and made the difference in the fourth lap out of six. "You can only cheer when you cross the finish line. I think it's great how she's standing here again.”

With this, she expands her gap in the X20 Badkamers Trofee significantly against Denise Betsema, now 4:15 minutes behind: “The focus is more on the X2O Trophy and less on the World Cup and Superprestige. I have made choices before the season and I want to stick to them, so I will ride a large part of the X2O classification. We'll see how it goes. Right now I'm just trying to focus on what's next.”

This of course means she will put the World Cup aside quite a bit. She will not take part in the Dublin World Cup race that will take place this Sunday. “I'm still young. I would prefer to ride one per weekend. That's why I'm skipping a few races, also because I want to focus on training for my development. Unfortunately, that comes with choices, I would have preferred to ride everywhere. Where I start, I try to make the best of it," she concludes.