Van Empel, who was allowed to take victory in cyclocross 19 times last year, immediately showed herself at the front. In the first lap, with Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, she put the competitors behind. In the second lap, Van Empel put her rival under pressure, after which Alvarado had to let go. The world champion steadily increased her lead and rode solo to victory in Beringen.

“I am happy with this victory,” Van Empel looked back with pleasure. “Alvarado seemed the best today, so I really had to work hard for it. In the second lap, I tried to put her under pressure, then she crashed. From then on I had to keep riding full, because on this course something can always go wrong.”

Van Empel, who will participate in several more crosses in the coming weeks, knows what she needs to work on. “I have only done two cross-training sessions so far and noticed that there is still room for improvement in terms of cornering. In the coming weeks, I want to start working hard on that during my training sessions.”