'Not fit enough to compete' - Ongoing illness sidelines Fem van Empel from Cyclocross European Championships title defense

By published

World Champion opts for training camp in Spain

Fem Van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Fem Van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike) (Image credit: Getty Images)

Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike) has been sidelined from racing again due to an ongoing illness that saw her pull out of the X2O Trofee Oudenaarde - Koppenbergcross on November 1.

The reigning cyclocross World Champion then had to make the difficult decision not to start the X2O Trofee Lokeren - Rapencross on November 2, nor the elite women's race at the UEC Cyclocross European Championships on November 8 in Middelkerke.

Kirsten Frattini
Kirsten Frattini
Deputy Editor

Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.

Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.

She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.