“It's quite difficult to ride alone, because you have no opposition" - Fem van Empel a dominant solo winner in Maasmechelen

Fem van Empel showed her dominance in Maasmechelen at the latest round of UCI World Cup action. The World Champion was a dominant solo winner, continuing her winning run since returning to cyclocross.

“Today was very tough. Especially the first lap," van Empel recapped in her post-race interview. “My start was pretty good, that went well. But the feeling was not very good on the first lap. But after the second lap it went well, so I'm happy with the rest of the race.”

Having moved to the front right from the start, only Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado was able to contact with van Empel before an untimely issue left the World Champion all alone. “Ceylin was very strong today. She is in good condition, but unfortunately she had some bad luck. She is ready for the European Championship," van Empel analyses. “It's quite difficult to ride alone, because you have no opposition, only from behind. It is important to drive at a fast pace. Sometimes it is difficult to estimate how much ahead you are, but the people on the sidelines do pass on some information.”

"It would be crazy if I did better than last year. But so far I'm doing better than last year in terms of profit margin. I know this is very special and I enjoy every moment. There will certainly come a time when things will slow down, but I can live with that too," she concludes. "Next Wednesday I will ride the Koppenbergcross. Hopefully I digest that well. At the European Championships everything has to go well and I still have to kick hard. We'll see, but I'll do my best.”