World Champion Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease A Bike) took another solo win at the brutally cold UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Besançon, opening a gap on the first lap to clinch back-to-back World Cup victories. She eventually finished 37 seconds ahead of World Cup leader Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) in second place and 1:02 seconds ahead of Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) in third.
In her return to cyclocross after an almost two-year absence, Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease A Bike) chased from a fifth-row start to take fifth place after a battle with Zoe Backstedt (Canyon-Sram) who finished fourth on Sunday.
“Yeah, it was a fun race. The spectators here are amazing, it was such an amazing crowd,” Van Empel said.
Van Empel agreed that being able to set her lines at the front at the front on the usually fast course made heavy by the cold conditions, leaving a thin top layer of ice over slick mud.
“I guess on this course, it was really slippery, so it was a benefit that I could ride my own race. So, yeah, I think it was perfect.”
Once again, Backstedt had a fast start to take the holeshot ahead of the 66-rider field which did not include Puck Pieterse who took a planned break. Van Empel quickly came to the front, with riders stringing out behind her on the technical course.
After one lap of the five-lap race, Van Empel had settled at the front with a gap to all chasers, a position she would keep until the finish as riders were seen blowing on their hands to try and warm up their fingers on the finish straight.
“I had a very good start and then, from start to finish, I rode my own pace and there was enough,” Van Empel said.
Racing cautiously on the second lap, the Dutchwoman still held a gap of seven seconds, a lead that would increase lap by lap to the end.
For the next three laps, Van and Brand battled fiercely, each exploiting different sections of the course that played to their strengths, constantly trading positions at the front. However, as the penultimate lap drew to a close, Brand managed to open a small gap on a fading Vas.
Meanwhile, Vos uses her skills and power to move up from her fifth-row start, to 15th place after one lap and in a battle for fourth place with Backstedt halfway through the race. Vos chose to skip a couple of bike changes to try and get the advantage but in the end, Backstedt got the better, crossing the line two seconds ahead of the eight-time world champion for fourth place.
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