"My body was completely in shock" - World Champion struggled through brutal Dendermonde mud
Cyclocross
Fem van Empel is the reigning World and European Champion but even a rider of such caliber can deeply struggle in a cyclocross race. Yesterday in Dendermonde the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider looked to get the win but had to settle in third in the absolute mud-fest that the race became.
Usually, this is what the riders find in this track, once again a World Cup round this winter. The Dutchwoman had a very difficult start where she lost time but also felt bad.
"That wasn’t the plan. I had a good start, but I don’t know what happened. My body was completely in shock," she explained in a post-race interview. "I haven’t been feeling great the past few days, so maybe it would have been better to start a bit slower. It was a very unusual race. I didn’t panic and just tried to get back into my rhythm."
By no means did van Empel do a poor race, finishing third at the end of the day only behind a very strong Lucinda Brand and Puck Pieterse, however it was a very tricky race and one she couldn't dominate as she usually does.
After overcoming the tough start, she was then hampered by punctures that continuously delayed her throughout the final laps. "I was never really up with the leader, first Puck was in front, and then Lucinda [Brand]. I caught up to Puck, took over, and then got a rear flat. At the end, I had another flat on the front, which was frustrating".
She confirmed as well at the end of the race that she will actually not be racing the Dutch national championships next weekend, taking a week off from racing, ahead of the final block of the season. "I’m not riding it; it’s a deliberate choice". At the time being Pieterse has confirmed that she will race them, whilst defending champion Lucinda Brand is still yet to make the decision.
Read also
Women Elite 🏆 in Dendermonde:
— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) January 5, 2025
🥇 Lucinda Brand 🇳🇱
🥈 Puck Pieterse 🇳🇱 +30s
🥉 Fem van Empel 🇳🇱 +41s #CXWorldCup #FLCS pic.twitter.com/WNVe9BcjA5
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- You’re both right but also both (me too) biased by this endless indoctrination through the expectations of others (no cyclist is worth mentioning without a tdf legacy) and sorry Fred but the part about him having to win the whole thing is misguided, Cavendish is venerated by most and he might not have even reached 50th in the how many editions he did (about double Merckxs). As rightly said Mathieu rides for HIMSELF (aside obligations) take it or leave it, I really don’t think he (and most others, even Cav or Pog) lie around in bed at night worrying or strategising about how to cement a place in history. We are lucky to witness a period where some of the best cyclists are (aside from money) motivated in the right way, you can often see in the authentic way they celebrate crossing the line after a huge effort, MVDPs are some of the best, 100% dedication, my favourite was the communion with his grandfather when he won that stage, it was visibly (worth seeing again if available) so powerful, I even think the only reason he tried the TdF at all (he’d never really shown any interest personally and I’m pretty sure it was a business “obligation” was in hommage to his grandfather who meant so much to him. Once done I think he realised he doesn’t enjoy it (should he (any of us actually) force himself to do a job he isn’t enjoying?) and saw no more reason to continue but being open he accepted to try something new, lead-out man and did it admirably. His riding career has now probably “peaked” and he’ll want to focus on those things personally still important before it’s too late and leads to regrets. I am sure he’ll regret his luck/carelessness at Olympics more than anything TdF related and among future goals, that will be his number 1 rectification target and sorry for those TdF obsessors (who often watch nothing else all year) but for many the Olympics are more important than eg the Tour, no matter what the majority of cycling thinks, and they have that right.Mistermaumau08-01-2025
- To MVDP, even if he wins 10 stages of the TDF, if he can't be overall champion (GC), he still loses.. so he thinks he has nothing to gain. He'd rather win a hundred minor races than frustrate himself trying to win the grandest race of them all. The mindset of a winner, you say? Maybe, but I don't think so. Nevertheless, he's a great cyclist. Monuments and classics, one-day races are his thing. He can ride a one-day 300 km race and win it, but a 3,500 km race spread over 21 days? Forget it.. he can win a stage or two, wear the yellow jersey for a day or two, (no mean feat, by the way) and finish in 50th place just the same, not even good enough for a podium, and he doesn't like it. To him, it's a waste of time.FredMan08-01-2025
- i’m with you on this… ALL IN for the xco world’s. a legacy of World Champion in four disciplines. that’s one for the ages…OCexile08-01-2025
- i’ve said before that i worry for mathieu’s place in history because he only has one tdf stage. cycling pundits place SO much emphasis off tdf wins that many of them still rate wva as superior to van der poel, which can ONLY be based on wout’s 9 tour wins (which impressively DO come over the whole spectrum of tdf parcours). as a fan of mvdp i wish he’d dedicate a couple years to racking up 5 or 6 more stage wins. that said, mathieu matches to his own drummer. he gets bored easily. and ultimately he’s gonna decide all in his own what does and don’t capture his interest and imagination. that’s one of the things i like BEST about him, so if he’s done with the Tour then that’s that, au revoir…OCexile08-01-2025
- I reported this in March of 2024. There was a bogus Facebook ad.davbott08-01-2025
- Does that mean that the Rapho jersey that I just purchased is a fake?
santiagobenites07-01-2025 - Utter rubish, if you think he peaks over 12 times trains, races, rests in 1 year you are living in cuckoo land.Senna196007-01-2025
- All theory, in practice much can happen, Tao won a Giro.Mistermaumau07-01-2025
- Same thing with ASSOS there was a fraudulent site in US, so I contacted ASSOS it’s down now. I don’t like counterfeiters or they bunk products. Call me old fashioned, it’s called honest.JtotheB07-01-2025
- Good on him for saying so; there's more to pro cycling than the Tour. The XCO World title is one still missing, so why not target that? However, Crans-Montana is really technical, and he will need plenty of time training and racing back on the MTB if he's going to go close. We know what happens with poor prep - crashes. This isn't CX, where you can turn up and win - the top MTB riders have got skills and MTB isn't just about watts......wipperman9507-01-2025