"it is nice to start the year with a victory" - Fem van Empel back to the top after a few difficult days

In Gavere and Hulst, Fem van Empel found herself away from the top step. It was an unusual sight for the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider who has been overwhelmingly dominant in cyclocross throughout the past 12 months, but today she put on a convincing ride at the GP Sven Nys.

“I notice that my technique has been letting me down lately. It's not that I suddenly can't steer anymore, but it does look like it. There is work to be done," the World Champion admits in a post-race interview. “I think it's all in my mind. Normally I can go down quite well. I don't know, maybe I should train on the cross bike more often.”

Van Empel has also been preparing for the road season, and technically speaking she feels the difference in the more technical tracks. Although today's race in Baal was not overly technical, it featured a lot of muddy and slippery sections where she felt the difference. Throughout three of the four laps she was matched by Lucinda Brand.

However in the last lap she had the upper hand and distanced the Dutch rider to take her first win of the year. “Will my program be adjusted? We'll see. But it is nice to start the year with a victory, especially with the new sponsor." With this, she also increased her already comfortable lead in the X2O Badkamers Trofee, now with 6:06 minutes over Brand herself.