🏆 UCI World Cup Gavere 🇧🇪 🥇 🇳🇱 Puck Pieterse 🥈 🇳🇱 Fem van Empel 🥉 🇳🇱 Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado 4 🇳🇱 Brand 5 🇭🇺 Vas 6 🇬🇧 Backstedt 7 🇮🇹 Casasola 8 🇳🇱 Van der Heijden 9 🇳🇱 Betsema 10 🇳🇱 Bakker ➡️ Results: bit.ly/3TzwQKD #CXWorldCup
Fem van Empel takes first defeat of the season: "Maybe I was having a bit of an off day or something"
CyclocrossTuesday, 26 December 2023 at 22:00
Fem van Empel has won every cyclocross race she participated in since the Dutch national championships back in February. This season she had not yet been defeated by anyone, until today, as she finished second in Gavere.
“I don't know what happened in the first three laps. Maybe I was having a bit of an off day or something. There was one person stronger today. She deserves it," van Empel said in a post-race interview. “No, I just couldn't go full throttle. Don't know. Maybe I'm a little tired, that can happen. It turned square, but I have no idea why. I didn't necessarily do anything different. It still surprised me how strong I came back. I'm a little satisfied, but also a little dissatisfied. There was just someone stronger today.”
Van Empel was not on her best day, and was defeated by Puck Pieterse. The gap that was built in the first laps of the race was too much for the World Champion to come back from, she could not match the Dutch national champion. She also did not take full risks in the descent. "Certainly. I fell during the reconnaissance and I really didn't want to injure my knee again, so I rode down there safely.”
The Dutch rider did put on a good ride throughout the first laps and overtook Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado in the final lap. “If it always happened automatically, there would also be something wrong. I just fought until the end. I think that's the positive of this day.”
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