Fem van Empel wins opening round of Cyclocross World Cup

The first round of the World Cup delivered, as in the women's field it came down to a sprint, where Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal youngster Fem van Empel continued her run of great form to take the win in the first round.

Denise Betsema and Annemarie Worst took over the pace in the opening laps of the race in Waterloo, however with the fast and dry track it was a tactical cross. The duo were dropped within the final laps as the pace ramped up. Lucinda Brand went into the final lap on the attack, deep into the race but couldn't keep the move going.

Van Empel rode into the front in the final minutes of racing as Brand cracked into third place, as Ceylin Carmen del Alvarado surged to second place and went head-to-head into the finishing straight. Van Empel took the win however, taking aswell the lead in the classification.