Fem van Empel lost in cyclocross for the first time this winter. The world champion finished second in the Christmas race in Gavere, where he ended Puck Pieterse’s winning streak.
During the warm-up, Van Empel fell to his knee in pain. With a full joint, he never came close to winning on the difficult course.
21-year-old Pieterse took advantage of the physical problems of his peers and scored his first victory of the season. Pieterse has been on the podium seven times so far this winter: second on four occasions and third on three occasions.
Third place was given to a Dutch woman. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado performed well in the final rankings and was clearly at the top.
Pieterse falls twice
At Gavere near Ghent, Luxembourg champion Marie Schreiber made the best start and was first into the first corner. However, Dutch women later took control in Flanders.
Pieterse was able to quickly overtake Luxembourger and create a big gap. However, the Dutch champion crashed twice on the first lap, allowing Alvarado to join the race. The duo had a 15-second lead over Van Empel and Lucinda Brand at the end of the first lap.
In the second round, Pieterse was able to release Alvarado. Van Empel and Brand had already given up half a minute when they crossed the finish line. On the fifth and final lap, Van Empel was able to pass Alvarado in the fight for second place. The winner was half a minute behind Pieterse.
eleven out of eleven
Van Empel won all eleven cyclocross races he competed in this season. The 21-year-old world champion is undefeated on the field since the national championships on January 15. The entire winning streak spanned sixteen games.
Alvarado is the clear leader in the World Cup standings. He has appeared in nine of the ten World Cups. Pieterse (six entries) and Van Empel (four) missed too many races to have a chance of qualifying for the final. After Alvarado, her compatriots Lucinda Brand and Manon Bakker are in second and third place.
Van der Poel
The men will also be on duty in Gavere this afternoon. World champion Mathieu van der Poel will compete against Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock, among others. The cross will be available to follow from 15:05 via this live broadcast on NOS.nl and the NOS app.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
