"Race by race" - Fem van Empel wins World Cup opener but is still undecided on whether she'll target cup win

Fem van Empel has not so far had the dominant season that she had last year, but when it matters she strikes hard. After winning in Kortrijk on Saturday, she made Sunday's World Cup Antwerpen look easy and took a very comfortable win with an attack on the second lap.

“I didn’t sit still during my training period. It’s always nice when you have that cross feeling again. On this course, it’s mainly a matter of staying focused and riding," van Empel said in a post-race interview. After her triumph at the European Championships she went on a training camp, and resumed racing this weekend where she won two for two, with ease.

Today in Antwerpen she quickly caught up with the initial attack of Marie Schreiber to move into the race lead, and on lap 2 she attacked and stormed to a win where no-one was even close to matching her. The technical and sandy course gave no chance to other riders, Lucinda Brand being the closest. 31 seconds back.

“It’s better to choose your own lines here. I tried to ride a steady pace. That was also tough to stay ahead. The wind did indeed play an important role," she said. "It’s very open here and you really notice that on the bike. Only in the material post that was less the case.”

The Dutchwoman said that she will miss the World Cup race in Cabras in December, but this does not mean that she won't aim for the World Cup win and today's performance will be the perfect start for that ambition. “I just try to make the best of every race. I won't contest one round, but that doesn't mean I can't win the World Cup. We'll see. Race by race," she concluded.