Fem van Empel crushes competition at the X2O Trophy of Koksijde, discusses fall on already damaged knee and skipping the Cyclo-cross National Championships

Van Empel made a strong start in Koksijde, going flat out right away. "That was the plan," she explained in West Flanders to the cycling press. "It allowed me to choose my own lines. Having that space gives me some extra peace of mind. And once you're in the lead, you have a lot of control. I quickly gained a gap and then rode at my own pace." The world champion soon extended her lead to a substantial margin and never relinquished it.

A notable incident during the race: the 21-year-old Van Empel didn't land perfectly on her bike during a swap in the third round, resulting in a hard fall on her already injured knee. She had sustained the initial injury in a crash in Baal three days earlier. "I'll need a couple of new knees by the end of the season," Van Empel joked. "I hope it hasn't caused too much damage. It was quite painful right after the fall. I've sealed the wound well, but a blow can do a lot," she cautiously added, uncertain about future implications.

"As is often the case this season, Van Empel had to overtake numerous trailing riders in Koksijde as well. Is that actually feasible or is it surprisingly difficult? "Those ladies do take it into account," she explains when asked by this website. "They are often young girls and it's not always easy for a young girl to compete among elite women. So, I have a lot of respect for them being at the start and doing everything they can to become as good as possible. They work just as hard as I do."

Not long after her victory, Van Empel also commented on her triumph in West Flanders on the team website of Visma | Lease a Bike. Her remarks were not much different from what she said immediately after the race, but there was a notable point on her agenda. The Dutch rider will skip the World Cup race in Zonhoven (on Sunday, January 7) and the Dutch Cyclocross Championship (on Sunday, January 14). She will return to racing on Sunday, January 21, at the World Cup race in Benidorm. The reason? Just like Wout van Aert (and almost everyone on the team), Van Empel will leave for a training camp in Spain on Monday, January 8. "It's been a busy but very beautiful period. The time has now come to take some time to recover better and build up well for what's to come," says the world champion.