The New Year kicked off with an enthralling race at GP Sven Nys, the fifth round of the 2024-2025 X2O Badkamers Trofee in Baal, Belgium. Canadian Junior champion Rafaelle Carrier killed it in the elite women’s race, placing seventh, while Fem van Empel and series leader Lucinda Brand sprinted it out for the victory. Brand’s series lead keeps growing, approaching 10 minutes.
Preliminaries
Unlike Eli Iserbyt’s stingy lead atop the elite men’s classification, Lokeren round victor Brand was 4:40 ahead of absent Annemarie Worst on the women’s side. Fem van Empel—who triumphed last season in Baal—and absent Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado won the other three rounds. Brand earned Monday’s evening Superprestige win.
The Canadian contingent was a nontet: Nico Knoll, Rafaelle Carrier (who got a front row start), Lily Rose Marois, Aislin Hallahan, Katja Verkerk, Christiane Bilodeau, Katelyn Walcroft, Mia De Martin and Dorothee Perron.
Van Empel came tearing out of the start blocks on Lap 1, with Puck Pieterse and Brand keeping close tabs on the world champion. After Pieterse took the lead, American Katie Clouse scrapped to the front. Carrier made it into the top 10. Van Empel went down and then took her time in getting underway again. Pieterse took an eight-second lead over Brand into the second circuit. Van Empel had a half minute to make up.
Carrier entered Lap 2 in ninth place with Clouse and Anna Kay. A rut took down the pursuing Brand but not as spectacularly as one flung Manon Bakker. Pieterse gap was 14 seconds at the line. Van Empel’s deficit was the same. Carrier was sixth, riding with the muddy Bakker.
Puck joined the crashing at the start of Lap 3 of 5, allowing Brand to first make the junction and then dash away. Pieterse had four seconds to make up going into the penultimate lap. Puck hopped on a clean bike. Van Empel began to drag back Pieterse. Brand made an error that put her in a barrier. Lapped riders were everywhere. Van Empel bridged to Pieterse.
Heading into the bell lap, Brand’s advantage was eight seconds. Pieterse pushed into Position 2 but van Empel took a better line into the mud pit and slid past. Van Empel almost caught Brand where the former could ride and the latter only run. The world champion finally grabbed Brand’s wheel and the two…
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