Fem van Empel is in the ascendency of cyclocross, having won three straight 2022-2023 World Cup rounds with Sunday’s victory in Tabor, Czech Republic, the first round in Europe. Sidney McGill was the top Canadian.
Earlier in the day Canada’s Ava Holmgren just missed the podium in the Junior women’s race, with sister Isabella 8th; Ian Ackert came fifth in the Junior men’s race; and Alexander Woodford placed 35th in the U23 men’s race.
You can watch the 2022-2023 UCI Cyclocross World Cup at FloBikes.
After winning the first two rounds, van Empel led reigning World Cup holder Lucinda Brand by 25 points. Unfortunately, Brand wasn’t in the race, having crashed on Saturday while doing recon of the Tabor course and fracturing a finger in her right hand.
Sad news. European champion 🦁 @lucinda_brand crashed during the recon of the 🇨🇿 Tabor World Cup parcours earlier today. She has a fracture of the right metacarpal and will be out for unknown time 😢 pic.twitter.com/8VXBpI6aBu
— Baloise Trek Lions (@Baloise_Trek) October 22, 2022
The Canadian contingent was Sidney McGill and Christiane Bilodeau.
U23 world champion Puck Pieterse and Kata Blanka Vas were back, as were the Belgians, who missed the first two rounds in the United States.
Luxembourger Marie Schreiber nabbed the hole shot on Lap 1 and had a little gap by the first staircase, Inge van der Heijden leading the chase. Pieterse caught her at the hurdles. Schreiber and Pieterse completed the first 3.35-km lap at 9:00. McGill was 35th.
Van der Heijden grabbed the reins at the start of Lap 2, pulling a string of 10 riders. Shirin van Anrooij went to the front with Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado on her wheel. Van Empel brought the group over the line. McGill was 41st and Bilodeau was 48th.
By Lap 3 of 6, the gang had grown even further and things got congested in the tricky little ramps. Pieterse was at the pointy end of the race applying pressure. Annemarie Worst and van Empel were able to go with her when she made a surge. At the hurdles Pieterse again hopped while others had to carry.
The Hungarian Blanka Vas was most interested in yanking the trio back. Betsema, Blanka Vas and Alvarado made the junction at the midway point of Lap 4. Worst pulled away until Pieterse jumped the hurdles and found her. McGill was 43rd.
The sextet went into the penultimate lap with van…
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