Cyclo-cross World Championships: Fem van Empel runs riot to retain rainbow jersey

Fem van Empel (Netherlands) won the elite women's cyclo-cross world title for a second year in a row with an utterly dominant performance in Tábor on Saturday.

The 21-year-old burst clear early on the first of four laps of the heavy course in the Czech Republic, and her competitors could only watch her ease further and further into the distance.

Lucinda Brand was the best of the rest to take the silver medal, some 1:20 down on Van Empel, while a disappointed Puck Pieterse trailed home at 1:54 to make it an all-Dutch podium.

In fact, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado made it a Dutch top four, with a total of six in the top 10, as Belgian Laura Verdonschot was the top non-Dutch rider in a distant fifth place.

"I did everything for this race this entire season. It’s the cherry on the cake for my season and I’m so happy," said Van Empel, who has won all but two races in a near flawless 2023-2024 campaign.

"This isn’t just my victory but is a victory for the entire group around me. It’s so special. I want to thank them. It means a lot to defend my title. It’s a special day today and everything needs to be in the right place at the right moment. It went super well and I’m so happy."

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Fem van Empel powered clear of the field in Tábor

Van Empel was one of several orange Dutch jerseys spread across the front row on the start line, and she wasted little time as the world championship quickly took the complexion of an in-house battle between one nation.

It was former world champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado who was quickest out of the blocks, but on the first real feature of the course, a steep ramp over a bridge, Van Empel moved to the front. After a few twists and turns, some sharp climbs, steps and a couple of barriers, she had opened a gap, and the writing was on the wall.

She stopped for an early first-lap put stop as the claggy mud clogged her bike, but otherwise it was smooth sailing. The circuit was long, taking around 11:30 to complete, but crossing the line for the first time she already had a lead of 16 seconds over Pieterse and Brand, with Alvarado at 39 seconds.

Pieterse, a fellow youngster and surely a rival for Van Empel in years to come, pushed hard on the second lap as she sensed the race getting away from her. However, she perhaps ended up paying for it.

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Pieterse moves clear of Brand but the tables would later be turned

At the end of the second lap, Pieterse ground out a lead of 12 seconds over Brand, although Van Empel was now 35 seconds out front. Meanwhile, Italy's Sara Casasola moved up to join Alvarado to add another nation into the mix, even if it was in fifth place.

On the third lap, Pieterse lost ground and suffered a really sluggish lap, which was down to more than just a pit stop. Brand, perhaps riding a more consistent pace throughout the race, came through and stamped her authority on the second-place position, even if it was becoming more and more distant, with Van Empel just over a minute clear.

The final lap saw no major incidents and Van Empel calmly negotiated the trickier elements of the course, a lung-buster that she made look like a breeze. A smile broke across her face as she entered the finishing straight with ample time to soak up her second elite world title.

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Fem van Empel pulls on the rainbow jersey for a second year in a row