Fem van Empel dominates Cyclocross World Cup opener in Waterloo

Race Results
By published

World champion beats Puck Pieterse and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado

Fem van Empel at the Cyclocross World Cup in Waterloo
Fem van Empel at the Cyclocross World Cup in Waterloo (Image credit: Jumbo-Visma)
Jump to:

Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma) defended her victory from last year in Waterloo, once again winning the opening round of the 2023-2024 UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Wisconsin on Sunday.

"I didn't know what happened in the race because I did not accelerate. I only rode at my own pace. That was enough to make a gap. I'm very happy to win this race," Van Empel said. 

"I will take some rest after the Europeans, and that is the moment I can relax a bit, so I will not do the whole season," Van Empel said.

The cyclocross world champion brought her top form into the early season race, fresh off her first year racing on the Women's WorldTour, and dominated the five-lap race from start to finish.

"It was a really nice race with all the fans cheering," Pieterse said. "In the beginning, I made some mistakes; my cyclocross technique let me down a bit, it gave Fem a gap and I couldn't close it. Luckily, I could hold onto second place."

How it unfolded

A false start saw Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) blast off the start line, only to have to turn around and line up again on the front row.

When the race officially began, Van Empel led the field onto the grass, followed by former world champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Pieterse, and then slightly further back, Zoe Backstedt (Canyon-SRAM), and Manon Bakker (Crelan-Corendon).

The sun was shining but the riders raced in cool temperatures on a damp course due to overnight rain that caused the mud to thicken along the trickier section and run-ups.

By the end of the first lap, Pieterse moved into the lead, overtaking Van Empel over the barriers and leading the trio, which included Alvarado, into the second lap.

Van Empel appeared to be strongest on the steep run-up, moving back into the race lead and forcing Pieterse and Alvarado to spend energy to close the small gap to the world champion over the top.

Pieterse and Alvarado were also forced to dismount on one of the trickier muddy sections on the second lap, causing them both to lose ground as Van Empel pushed her lead out to nine seconds.

By the start of the third lap, Van Empel, who made almost no mistakes along the course, built her lead out to more than 20 seconds. 

And a lap later, the penultimate lap, there were only three riders within a minute of her, with Pieterse racing in second position, Alvarado in third and Maghalie Rochette (Canyon Collective) moving into fourth as Backstedt drifted back into fifth position.

The top five riders held those positions through the fifth and final laps. Further down the top 10, Bakker dropped to sixth place at 2:23 back, Clara Honsinger was seventh at 2:59 back and junior world champion Isabella Holmgren was eighth at 3:15.

Results

Results powered by FirstCycling

Kirsten Frattini
Kirsten Frattini
Editor

Kirsten Frattini has been the Editor of Cyclingnews since December 2025, overseeing editorial operations and output across the brand and delivering quality, engaging content.

She manages global budgets, racing & events, production scheduling, and contributor commissions, collaborating across content sections and teams in the UK, Europe, North America, and Australia to ensure audience and subscription growth across the brand.

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.

Latest on Cyclingnews