Fem van Empel explained
Fem van Empel (born 3 September 2002) is a Dutch professional racing cyclist.[4] [5] In January 2021, she won the women's under-23 race at the 2021 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.[6] [7] During the 2022–2023 season she won the women's elite race at the World Championships and the European Cyclo-cross Championships. On 22 January 2023, she secured overall victory at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup (2022–23). On 16 Feb 2023 at Brussels, Fem clinched the X20 Badkamers Trophy.[8] The previous week, her first race in the World Champions jersey, competing in the X20 Badkamers at Lille she finished 1st doing a "Pidcock" (posing as Superwoman) across the finish line.[9] In the cyclo cross season 2023 to 2024 Fem Van Empel was first in her first eleven races. Having finished the previous season with five successive firsts, it brought her run of first places in top level Cyclocross to sixteen.[10] Fem Van Empel retained her UCI World Championship at Tábor on 3 February 2024. One respected commentator (Marty McCrossan) noted he had "run out of superlatives to describe Fems phenomenal talent", calling her "The Golden Girl of Cyclocross". Another (Ian Field) described her performance as " pretty much perfection" .[11] "Velo" noted that "her 18th victory out of what has been (so far) a 20-race season" is "a staggering success rate " [12] .Fem completed her 2023 to 2024 season with a win to take the X²O Badkamers Trophy at Lille on 11 Feb. This took her number of wins for the season to 19 from 21 races. [13] At the end of season 2023 to 2024 Fems' career total number of Elite level Cyclo-cross race wins was 37.[14] [15] [16]
Major results
Cyclo-cross
- 2019–2020
3rd National Junior Championships
5th UCI World Junior Championships
- 2020–2021
1st UCI World Under-23 Championships
UCI World Cup
4th Dendermonde
- 2021–2022
1st National Under-23 Championships
UCI World Cup
1st Val di Sole
1st Flamanville
4th Besançon
4th Rucphen
4th Namur
4th Hoogerheide
5th Zonhoven
5th Hulst
Superprestige
2nd Heusden-Zolder
Ethias Cross
2nd Lokeren
3rd UCI World Under-23 Championships
3rd UEC European Under-23 Championships
- 2022–2023
UCI World Championships
1st Elite race
1st Team relay
1st UEC European Championships
1st Overall UCI World Cup
1st Waterloo
1st Fayetteville
1st Tábor
1st Maasmechelen
1st Antwerpen
1st Dublin
1st Benidorm
2nd Beekse Bergen
2nd Overijse
2nd Hulst
3rd Zonhoven
1st Overall X²O Badkamers Trophy
1st Koppenberg
1st Baal
1st Hamme
1st Lille
1st Brussels
2nd Koksijde
Exact Cross
1st Kruibeke
1st Beringen
2nd Meulebeke
3rd National Championships
- 2023–2024
1st UCI World Championships
1st UEC European Championships
1st Overall X²O Badkamers Trophy
1st Koppenberg
1st Kortrijk
1st Herentals
1st Baal
1st Koksijde
1st Hamme
1st Lille
4th Overall UCI World Cup
1st Waterloo
1st Maasmechelen
1st Antwerpen
1st Benidorm
1st Hoogerheide
2nd Gavere
4th Hulst
Superprestige
1st Overijse
1st Boom
1st Heusden-Zolder
Exact Cross
1st Beringen
1st WoerdenGravel
- 2023
1st National Championships
2nd UEC European ChampionshipsMountain bike
- 2019
3rd Cross-country, National Junior Championships
- 2020
2nd Cross-country, National Junior Championships
3rd Eliminator, UCI World Championships
- 2021
2nd Eliminator, UEC European Championships
- 2022
1st Cross-country, National Under-23 Championships
2nd Cross-country, UEC European Under-23 ChampionshipsRoad
- 2022
3rd Road race, UEC European Under-23 Championships
- 2023
1st Stage 3 Tour de l'Avenir
6th Arnhem–Veenendaal Classic
8th Road race, UEC European Under-23 Championships
- 2024
8th La Flèche WallonneNotes and References
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/L7swQA-i_EQ
- https://cyclingmagazine.ca/cyclocross/superwoman-van-empel-wins-first-race-in-the-rainbow-jersey/
- https://www.discoveryplus.com/gb/video/sport/dplus-sport-dplus-sport-sport/trofee-veldrijden-5943754
- Web site: Meet the 18-year-old cyclocross sensation who's taking it to the world's best . Cycling Tips . 31 January 2021.
- Web site: 18-year-old Fem van Empel signs professional contract with Pauwels Sauces: 'The youngest cyclocross topper since Marianne Vos in 2004' . Netherlands News Live . 31 January 2021.
- Web site: Fem van Empel takes U23 world cyclocross title . Velo News . 31 January 2021.
- Web site: Fem van Empel wint goud op WK veldrijden voor beloften vrouwen . Wielerflits . 31 January 2021.
- Web site: GCN+ Cycling As You’ve Never Seen It . 2023-11-22 . plus.globalcyclingnetwork.com.
- Web site: GCN+ Cycling As You’ve Never Seen It . 2023-11-22 . plus.globalcyclingnetwork.com.
- Web site: Fem van Empel - Cyclocross . 2023-11-22 . Cyclocross24.com . en.
- https://www.discoveryplus.com/gb/video/sport/dplus-sport-dplus-sport-sport/world-championship-6033325
- https://velo.outsideonline.com/cyclocross/cyclocross-racing/fem-van-empel-streets-ahead-on-muddy-world-cyclocross-champs-course-in-tabor/
- https://www.teamvismaleaseabike.com/race-report/news/van-empel-rounds-off-great-cross-season-with-victory-in-lille/
- https://cyclocross24.com/rider/fem-van-empel/
- https://cyclocross24.com/rider/fem-van-empel/results/2022-2023/
- https://cyclocross24.com/rider/fem-van-empel/results/2021-2022/