Fem van Empel Cruises to Women’s Cyclocross World Title

Fem van Empel turned the 2023 UCI Cyclocross World Championships into a clinic. The 20-year-old Dutch rider was dominant in the Elite Women’s race, as she cruised to the victory and her first ’cross world championship title at the Elite level.

UCI Cyclocross World Championships Results Here

It was a damp day in Hoogerheide, and while the course held up well, it was a fall on a turn that ended up being the race’s key separator.

The race was billed as a marquee matchup between the two heavy favorites: van Empel and Puck Pieterse—both Dutch and both just 20 years old. Ultimately, van Empel—who held a slight advantage over Pieterse during a thrilling CX season—proved to be too strong on Saturday. van Empel capitalized on a fall by Pieterse and rode that lead to the win.

The Netherlands showed its dominance overall with van Empel taking the top spot on the podium, Pieterse claiming second, and Dutch veteran Lucinda Brand placing third.

How the race played out

Van Empel’s strong day starting right at the beginning. She got away at the start well and opened up and early lead on the rest of the field. Pieterse didn’t have the best of starts and had to fight her way through the pack. She did just that, and a group of four leaders eventually formed with van Empel, Pieterse, Brand, and Italian Silvia Persico.

Brand and Persico spent the first half of the race yo-yo’ing between the lead group and at times fading back. Up front, van Empel at one point, surrendered the lead to Pieterse, but never let much of an a lead form.

The decisive moment of the race came on the fourth of seven laps. With van Empel holding a narrow lead on Pieterse and Brand, Pieterse took a spill around a bend. Pieterse got up quickly, but the damage was done. Van Empel pushed after that and opened up a lead that would only extend from there.

“It was a battle with Puck,” van Empel said after the race. “I think she crashed or made a fall, but at that moment I went full gas,”

Van Empel expertly maneuvered the course and captured the world title by 39 seconds over Pieterse. Brand took third—1:11 back of van Empel—to make it a Dutch sweep of the podium. Persico out-sprinted Dutch rider Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado for fourth—the Netherlands made up four of the top five.

Elite Women - Top 10

1. Fem van Empel (Netherlands)

2. Puck Pieterse (Netherlands)

3. Lucinda Brand (Netherlands)

4. Silvia Persico (Italy)

5. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Netherlands)

6. Annemarie Worst (Netherlands)

7. Inge van der Heijden (Netherlands)

8. Denise Betsema (Netherlands)

9. Maghalie Rochette (Canada)

10. Hélène Clauzel (France)

U23 Men - Top 3

1. Thibau Nys (Belgium)

2. Tibor Del Grosso (Netherlands)

3. Witse Meeussen (Belgium)

Junior Women - Top 3

1. Isabella Holmgren (Canada)

2. Ava Holmgren (Canada)

3. Célia Gery (France)

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