Van Empel solos to resounding victory in Antwerpen

Fem van Empel wasted no time in leaving her mark in the opening round of the 2024-2025 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Antwerpen. The world champion took the lead in the second lap and staged a mighty solo performance. Lucinda Brand and Marie Schreiber completed the podium. 

Marie Schreiber's (Team SD Worx - Protime) fast start immediately put her opponents under pressure. In her usual fashion, she made a quick escape and soon created a small lead for herself. A strong Fem van Empel (Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women) capitalised on a poor start from rivals Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix - Deceuninck) and Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) and joined Schreiber at the head of the race.  

With a smart move, she took over the lead and moments later left Schreiber trailing behind. At the end of the second lap, her lead over Schreiber was 9 seconds. In the meantime, Lucinda Brand had put her poor start behind her and followed in third place 20 seconds in arrears. 

Halfway through the race, Alvarado and Worst (Cyclocross Reds) joined Zoë Backstedt (Canyon//SRAM Racing), some distance behind Lucinda Brand. While Van Empel continued to extend her lead in a very authoritative manner, Brand pushed hard just before the sand stretch, quickly passing Schreiber to take second place. 

With two laps to go, Van Empel was comfortably in the lead with a 29-second advantage over Brand. Alvarado tried to close the gap on Schreiber, leaving behind her closest attackers Casasola (Crelan - Corendon) and Backstedt. While Annemarie Worst's hopes of a good result were dashed due to chain issues, Schreiber was putting up a stubborn fight to hold on to third place.  

The race seemed to be a foregone conclusion as the riders entered the final lap. Brand kept pace with the leader and eventually even managed to gain a few seconds, but Van Empel's lead was comfortable enough. A strong Casasola caught Alvarado and showed herself the stronger of the two; good for place four. 

And so Van Empel smashed the opposition, riding solo to a resounding victory, leaving Lucinda Brand to settle for second place after a relentless chase. Marie Schreiber held on and completed the podium, more than a minute behind world champion Fem van Empel.