Nacht van Woerden: Fem van Empel takes comeback victory in second race of the season

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Aniek van Alphen second, Inge van der Heijden third in Woerden

Dutch Fem Van Empel pictured in action during the women elite race of the Cyclocross Ruddervoorde, Sunday 19 October 2025 in Ruddervoorde, stage 1 (out of 7) of the Superprestige cyclocross cycling competition. BELGA PHOTO LUC CLAESSEN (Photo by LUC CLAESSEN / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP)
Van Empel started her cyclo-cross season at the weekend (Image credit: Getty Images)
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Cyclo-cross world champion Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike) sprinted to victory in the Nacht van Woerden race on Tuesday evening, beating Aniek van Alphen (Seven Racing) to the line.

The pair had been engaged in a tense battle in Woerden, a standalone race that's run in the evening and low light, after breaking away early with Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon).

"It feels really great to take the win here," she said. "It’s always special to race here, and to finish it off with a victory makes it even better. I really enjoyed being out there, and it was a beautiful battle."

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Matilda Price
Assistant Features Editor

Matilda is an NCTJ-qualified journalist based in the UK who joined Cyclingnews in March 2025. Prior to that, she worked as the Racing News Editor at GCN, and extensively as a freelancer contributing to Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Velo, Rouleur, Escape Collective, Red Bull and more. She has reported from many of the biggest events on the calendar, including the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France Femmes, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. She has particular experience and expertise in women's cycling, and women's sport in general. She is a graduate of modern languages and sports journalism.


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