Fem Van Empel returns to winning ways in Antwerp World Cup round
Pieterse places second, Van Anrooij third






168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Fem Van Empel (Pauw꧟els Sauzen - Bingoal) returned to the top spot of the women’s cyclo-cross World Cup podium by winning the eighth round in Antwerp.
After a crash ꦅruined her chances last weekend in Hulst, the 20-year-old made no mistake this time, taking control at the halfway point and distancing rival 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
Pieterse h꧑ad won the previous two World Cup rounds and, despite forcing her rival into early errors, struggled to match the speed of Van Empel on the hard ground in the latter stages.
168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Shirin Van Anrooij (Baloise Trek Lions) crashed hܫeavily on the opening lap allowing the leading duo a gap and was left chasing in third for the remainder of the race.
Van Empel, who had mixed training with racing during November, was in firm control afꦑter mastering the course taking victory by 34 seconds, while Pieterse had to settle for second.
Van Anrooij saw🧔 off the challenge of Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal) and Inge Van der Heijden (777) in the battle for t▨hird to clinch her fifth World Cup podium of the season.
The World Cup lead🃏er said that she suffered from cold hands in the opening l♒aps, which resulted in some small errors.
When asked if she was ‘simply the best?' Van Empel replied: “Not the first part of the ra🎶ce, maybe🐟 the second.
“At the first part of the race, my ha♎nds were really cold, so it was a bit not good with my handlebars. In the second part, I felt good again. I rode൩ my own race, which was enough for the win.
“My focus wasn’t there (early on), but in 🍷the second part it was, so ꦚreally nice.”
How it unfolded
Coming into the eighth World Cup round, Fem Van Empel (Pauwel﷽s Sauzen - Bingoal) had a healthy lead in the overall series after winning the opening four𒁃 rounds.
However, the European Champion ha꧒sn’t had things her own way in recent weeks, ꩵwith fellow Dutch woman Puck Pieterse (Alpecin - Deceuninck) winning the last two rounds.
The pair had looked evenly matched in the last round at Huls🀅t before Van Empel crashed, allowing Pieterse to take a clear victory.
The Scheldecross at Antwerpen, which was cancelled last year after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, was back with a course including hard ground and a long sand section alongside t𝔍he river Scheldt.
Former world champion and twice runner-up in Antwerp, Lucinda Bra✱nd (Baloise Trek Lions) wasn’t on the start-line due to suffering from a cold, and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin - Deceuninck) was another non-starter.
Multi-discipline world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Ineos Grenadiers) was on the start-line for her first World Cup event of the season but pulled out midway through the race♎ after falling back through the field.
Rivals Van Empel and Pieterse battled at the front away from the start while behind the two-ღtime winner at Antwerp, Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal), tangled on the first tight corner and lost time.
Pieterse pushed the early pace and was the only rider able to bunny-hop the barriers going clear, withꦇ Van Empel following.
Shirin Van Anrooij (Baloise Trek Lions) hadꦐ finished on the podium in the last three rounds, including a win at Beekse Bergen and was forced to chase alone behind on the opening lap.
After almost🎶 reach🐻ing the leading pair, Van Anrooij slid on the sand and bent her handlebars, resulting in the under-23 rider falling back to the chasing group.
Despite her crash, Van Anrooij had responded well and was chasing just seven seconds behind the leaders after the oﷺpening lap.
The technical abi🍌lity of Pieterse was starting to show with Van Empel making a small mistake in the sand and then on a steep bank, but she closed back to her rival quickly on both occasions.
On the second lap, Van Empel lost her balance in the sand as her rival regained a gap of five seconds while Van Anrooij was a further eigh🍨t seconds back.
Once again, Van Empel used her power and running speed in the deeper sections of sa🌳nd to pull her Dutch rival back again.
Inge Van der Heijden (777) was also in the medal battle, jus🍎t nine secoജnds behind Van Anrooij at the conclusion of the second lap.
After being on the back foot iꦉn the first half of the race, World Cup leader✃ Van Empel started to dictate the pace approaching the halfway point and distanced Pieterse as her rival made a small mistake in the sand.
Former footballer Van Empel then increased her margin on the small running section to six seco♋nds entering the penultimate lap.
Put under🙈 pressure, it was now Pieterse who made a small mistake as the mountain bike rider was pushing her technical ability on the tricky sections to reduce the gap.
After her early crash, Betsema was finishing strongly, riding across to Van der Heijden with the pair chasing tဣhird place Van Anrooij.
At the front, Van Empel looked calm and in control on theᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ fast course setting the fastest lap of the race and increasing h♓er advantage to 16 seconds at the bell.
In the battle for third, Van Anrooij had responded and was 24 seconds ahead of Betsema and Van der♐ Heijden entering the final lap.
Van Empel continued her relentless pace taking victory by 34 seconds from Pieterse, who was resignꦆed to a second-place finish.
Meanwhile, Baloise Trek Lions rider Van Anrooꦆij maintained her pace to finish third 18 seconds ahead of a fast-finishing Betsema. ꩵ;
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Ben raced as an amateur cyclist in the UK from a young age into the senior ranks on the road, track and in cyclocross. He has an NQJ qualification in journalism, and a sports journalism degree, and has spent over 10 years as a news and sports journalist. Ben has been covering cyclocross for media outlets, including Cyclingnews, since 2021 an𝓀d has been on the ground reporting at World Championships in Zolder, Belvaux, Valkenberg, Dubendorf, and Hoogerheide. Away from cycling as a freelance sports journalist, Ben regularly reports on a range of sports including football, rugby, and snooker amongst others. However, he is happiest whilst reporting on-site at cyclocross races in Belgium and the Netherlands.
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