Phenomenal Van Empel solos to victory in Overijse

Fem van Empel took the holeshot, turned on the gas on the first lap and did not relinquish the lead during the rest of the race. With Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Inge van der Heijden in second and third spot, the opening round of the Telenet Superprestige saw an all-Dutch podium in the Women Elite’s race. 

No one could live with Fem van Empel. Right from the start she tolerated no opposition. A group with Hélène Clauzel, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Annemarie Worst, Marie Schreiber and Inge van der Heijden soon had to chase. Whether Fem van Empel could prove her supremacy, on a course where last year she lost by more than 1 minute to winner Puck Pieterse, still remained to be seen. 

At the first crossing of the finish line, Fem van Empel already had a 17-second lead over the chasing Alvarado, who had broken away from the others in the aforementioned group. Alvarado, overall winner of the Telenet Superprestige 2022-2023, did all she could to secure valuable points for the final classification.

Van Empel looked to be on his way to a solo victory assuming she had no bad luck. Halfway through the race, she already had a secure lead of more than half a minute. Alvarado still followed in second place, Van der Heijden and Worst were battling for spots three and four. 

It was the same scenario for the second half of the race. Van Empel rode to victory in the Druivencross with huge authority. Alvarado secured second place, while Van der Heijden took the third podium spot. That’s how the “Mother of all crosses” got an all-Dutch podium for the Women Elite’s race.