New generation Van Empel, Pieterse, Van Anrooij continue dominance in Cyclo-cross World Cup

The new generation of cyclocross stars are dominating this year’s women’s UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup series and winning all eight rounds to date, including the most recent in Antwerp on Sunday. Aged just 20 years old, Dutch riders Fem Van Empel, Puck Pieterse and Shirin Van Anrooij have shared out the event wins. 

While last season’s World Cup winner Lucinda Brand has been out with a fractured hand and now illness, the youngsters have shown relentless pace.  

World champion Marianne Vos has also struggled to break their domination, finishing ninth at the European Championships and fifth in her only World Cup event since returning from the road. 

After being clearly the strongest in the opening elite races, Van Empel moved up from the under-23 ranks to the elite category at the European Championships. Despite suffering a puncture, Van Empel came back with a vengeance and won her first elite title, while Pieterse won the under-23 crown.

After winning seven of her first eight elite races this season, Van Empel suffered her first World defeat by a surprise Van Anrooij attack in Bergen. 

Pieterse then showed her technical skills to win at Overijse before also winning last week in Hulst after Van Empel crashed. 

The trio was again dominant in the World Cup in Antwerp on Sunday, riding clear of their senior rivals from the opening straight. 

Eventually, Van Empel, who will ride for Jumbo-Visma on the road next season, mastered the sand sections of the course and powered away from Pieterse to take her ninth elite win of the season. 

“Puck was also really strong. We were both really strong today,” said Van Empel after extending her overall World Cup lead in the Antwerp round. “But luckily, I made it first to the finishing line. It was a relief that I could win again in the World Cup.”  

Worryingly for her rivals, Van Empel was using the World Cup rounds in November as part of her training programme but still came away with three second-place finishes. 

“I said in advance that November was for training, so I’m very happy,” said Van Empel. 

Different targets for different riders

While Van Empel has road racing aspirations, Pieterse is targeting mountain bike Olympic Games gold. 

The fellow 20-year-old has impressed with her technical ability winning her first elite World Cup in the mud at Overijse, finishing over a minute ahead of her rivals. 

Again, in Antwerp, Pieterse displayed her skills and was the only rider of the leading group able to jump the barriers. 

Van Empel was able to match Pieterse’s early pace before her rival had enough power to ride away for the victory. 

“I wanted to start fast to be in front at the barriers in the first passage, and I could immediately ride something that the other girls had to walk. I had a bit of a gap to put some pressure on the rest. I then made a kind of tumble, and Fem came with me again," Pieterse said.

“I tried a couple of times, but maybe a bit too early in the race, because after that, I was pretty tired. I decided to let Fem in front in the sand to see what her lines were, but the one lap didn’t go so well, and Fem had a gap that I couldn’t close anymore, unfortunately."

Pieterse didn’t make the trip to America for the opening two World Cup rounds, so lost points in the overall competition to her rivals but now sits second overall.

Van Empel, ranked number one in the world, leads the World Cup series by 95 points after eight of 14 Cyclo-cross World Cup rounds, ahead of Pieterse and Van Anrooij in third. 

“I need a few really good races if I want to keep up with Fem,” Pieterse said. 

“Of course, she rode the World Cups in the US, so she has a big points difference. I’m planning on riding all the rest of the World Cups, so everything is possible, but Fem has a pretty comfortable lead.” 

Van Empel has only ridden two other races since the World Cup series began, the European Championships and Koppenbergcross, choosing not to ride the Superprestige series or other Belgian televised races. 

Similarly, Pieterse has only ridden the World Cup events and European Championships, with both riders racing just once a weekend. 

Van Anrooij

Van Anrooij outfoxed both her rivals to take her maiden World Cup victory with a late attack at Bergen. 

Unlike her compatriots, the Baloise Trek Lions rider, with five World Cup podiums to her name this season, also rode Saturday’s Superprestige series at Boom finishing third. 

Less than 24 hours later, Van Anrooij was back on the grid in the Antwerp round and was the only rider able to follow the early pace of Van Empel and Pieterse. 

However, a crash in the sand resulted in Van Anrooij being distanced, and she chased alone to finish third. 

“I was really motivated, maybe a bit too much, and I crashed in the sand,” said Van Anrooij.

“I was up pretty soon, but I didn’t really find the flow anymore. I kept getting stuck on the same seconds, so it was a race on my own, and then yesterday’s race was maybe a bit too much for the final today." 

“I could feel it just on the two short climbs - yesterday, there were nine of those climbs - so I could feel it on the final kick that my legs were still hurting a bit. Also, in the long sand pit."

"Maybe I just haven’t recovered enough, but I’m happy with another third place. I really like riding in the sand, but I should not have made a mistake.”