Fem van Empel rides to victory at European Championships; Alvarado and Casasola ride to second and third

Without much surprise, Fem van Empel has won yet again. The World Champion is now also European Champion, she confidently took the victory in Pontchâteau in familiar fashion.

The conditions were very muddy, a very big difference when comparing to what the under-23 riders found in the morning. This made for a much more selective race and in these conditions there was little to do against van Empel.

Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado took the lead in the start of the race, but as soon as the climbs and technical sections began to split the field, van Empel took the lead. What followed was a very familiar sight, the Dutch rider was uncontested and no-one had an even similar pace.

Van Empel rode to the seventh win of her season, again solo. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado rode to second place on the day despite being quite distant, whilst Italian Sara Casasola finished third in a very impressive performance.