"It was slippery today. A small mistake is easily made" - Victorious Van Empel has sympathy for rivals after faultless display in Herentals
Cyclocross
She may have already been beaten more times this season than in the entirety of last winter, but there's no doubting the fact that Fem van Empel remains the dominant force in women's cyclocross.
On Saturday afternoon in Herentals, Van Empel was again the strongest of a high-quality field, crossing the line solo for a relatively dominant victory. That's not to say that the Dutchwoman had things all her own way though. The likes of Annemarie Worst, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Lucinda Brand were all on Van Empel's case for a long while, although for the latter two, small crashes eventually dented their chances of victory.
"I am very happy. I’ve been working really hard the past few weeks,” Van Empel assessed in her post-race interview afterwards. “It actually went pretty well. I can’t complain, but there’s always work to be done. Technically, it’s very different on a cyclocross bike than on the road. But I’m definitely very happy with today.”
“I think it was just a matter of putting some pressure on the whole race. You can see at the end that they are coming back a bit. You have a target to ride towards. That was not entirely to my advantage, so I thought: if I just go all out on those climbs, I will keep them at a gap,” she concludes, noting the difficulties encountered by both Brand and Alvarado. “When you were the first to go down that descent, you could ride your own lines. But as soon as you are behind someone, you usually follow and you can't choose your own path. It was slippery and slippery today. Then a small mistake is easily made.”
Read also
| 01 | van Empel Fem | - | 43:42 |
| 02 | Brand Lucinda | - | + 19 |
| 03 | Alvarado Ceylin del Carmen | - | + 20 |
| 04 | Worst Annemarie | - | + 25 |
| 05 | Cant Sanne | - | + 02:15 |
| 06 | Norbert Riberolle Marion | - | + 02:24 |
| 07 | Verdonschot Laura | - | + 02:27 |
| 08 | Bakker Manon | - | + 02:56 |
| 09 | De Beer Jamie | - | + 03:17 |
| 10 | Betsema Denise | - | + 03:34 |
| 11 | Kay Anna | - | + 05:03 |
| 12 | Truyen Marthe | - | + 05:14 |
| 13 | Crabbe Kiona | - | + 05:18 |
| 14 | Baroni Francesca | - | + 05:29 |
| 15 | Spesna Simona | - | + 05:30 |
| 16 | Kastelijn Yara | - | + 05:30 |
| 17 | Coppens Nette | - | + 05:44 |
| 18 | Sonnemans Sara | - | + 06:17 |
| 19 | Lisbygd Ann-Dorthe | - | + 06:28 |
| 20 | Crees Xan | - | + 06:47 |
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- It does, he had some weight management issues, being too lightweight I believe. He will be right there if he comes healthy.awp15-01-2025
- I think you are right. The way he came back from that dreadful accident and still managed to finish second in the tour speaks volumes.roadman5412115-01-2025
- Never count Vingegaard out. He is one hell of great athlete. If he comes healthy it will be game on.awp15-01-2025
- We are in for what might just be one of cycle racing's best ever years. I'm so looking forward to it. Bring it on!1stpastthepost15-01-2025
- I like to have a bet on cycling now and then. No big stakes a £ or a $ and always feel that given the right circumstances Alaphilipe gives you value for money :-)1stpastthepost15-01-2025
- What else is he supposed to say, "no, he's unbeatable, we'll be fighting for top 10"😂vappaxbipmv15-01-2025
- I have no cause. I think that it is a healthy thing for a human being to forgive and, where possible, forget an “adolescent” lapse of judgement. Regarding rape or genocide or the many other bad things the human race does to each other I surely do make comment where appropriate. We all have exactly the same choice and fundamental right to question and engage similarly on “any” topic that concerns you - as you have done here.roadman5412115-01-2025
- Erm, that’s pretty forgiving, up to what point are you willing to go? Rape, murder, genocide? As for Mikolajjj, if you feel so strongly on the subject, why waste you time here where the author is hardly likely to notice you. There must be millions of worse cases to go comment on snd thousandd on more useful websites for furthering your cause.Mistermaumau15-01-2025
- He is definitely among the best, but marred by bad luck the past few years. With Pogi, MvDP, Remco and Wout dominating the classics, the likelihood for him to win in the classics is slimmer these days even if he's back to his best shape. I like his attacks, more strength to his elbow.
KerisVroom15-01-2025 - Yeh he is cool. I hope he has a good year.1stpastthepost14-01-2025