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Fem van Empel of the Netherlands won her second consecutive elite women’s cyclocross world title with a dominant performance in Tabor on Saturday.
The 21-year-old burst out early in the first of four laps on the Czech Republic’s heavy course, and competitors could only watch as she eased further and further away.
Lucinda Brand won the silver medal with a lead of 1 minute 20 seconds over Van Empel, but a disappointed Pac-Peters came back in 1 minute 54 seconds and all Dutch riders were on the podium.
In fact, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado finished in the top four Dutch riders, with a total of six riders in the top ten, with Belgian Laura Verdonschott leading the way in fifth place by a wide margin. Ta.
“All season long I’ve done everything for this race. This is the best finish for my season and I’m very happy,” he said in a near-perfect 2023-2024 season with all but two races. Van Empel said after winning.
“This is not just a victory for me, but a victory for the whole group around me. It’s very special. I want to thank them. It means a lot to defend my title. Today is a special day. Everything has to go smoothly.” I was in the right place at the right time. It worked very well and I’m very satisfied. ”
Van Empel was one of several orange Dutch jerseys spread out in the front row of the start line, and she wasted little time as the world championship quickly took on the appearance of a civil war between one country. I didn’t.
Former world champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado was fastest out of the blocks, but Van Empel took the lead on the course’s first real feature, the steep climb over a bridge. After some twists and turns, steep climbs, stairs and several barriers, she made her way through and the writing was on the wall.
She had a stop-stop early in the first lap due to some lumpy mud clogging her bike, but other than that it was smooth sailing. The circuit was long, taking about 11:30 to complete, but by the time she crossed the line for the first time she already had a 16 second lead over Peters and Brand, with Alvarado 39 seconds ahead of her. was.
Pieters, a fellow youngster who would be Van Empel’s rival for years to come, pushed hard on the second lap as he felt the race slipping away from him. But perhaps she ended up paying for it.
At the end of the second lap, Peters had a 12 second lead over Brand, although there was a 35 second gap ahead of Van Empel. Meanwhile, Italy’s Sara Casasola moved up the rankings to join Alvarado, adding another country to her team, albeit in fifth place.
On the third lap Peters lost the position and suffered a very slow lap that was hardly a pit stop. Brand, who had probably been running at a consistent pace throughout the race, was able to win and claim second place, despite the fact that he was just over a minute behind Van Empel and the gap was widening.
There were no major incidents on the final lap, with Van Empel calmly navigating the tricky elements of the track and easily pulling off a lungbuster. She had a smile on her face as she entered the finishing straight with enough time to take home her second Elite World title.
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