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Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease A Bike) took victory within the ninth spherical of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Benidorm, prevailing within the dash on the finish of an exciting race which, for essentially the most half, noticed a bunch of round a dozen riders combating for the win.
The 22-year-old beat Lucinda Model (Baloise Glowi Lions) to the road because the pair accelerated away on the finish of the sixth and ultimate lap in Spain. Two seconds additional again, Marie Schreiber (SD Worx-Protime) rounded out the rostrum simply forward of Van Empel’s Visma teammate Marianne Vos.
“It was thrilling. I am all the time glad to race right here. The group was superb and it is an incredible race,” Van Empel stated later of her third Benidorm victory in as a few years. “In the course of the begin, I used to be focussed and I feel I used to be in first or second place for the entire race so sure, I used to be all the time in management.”
There have been loads of massive names current at first in Benidorm, although Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) was a notable absentee by way of sickness. Because of this, the early phases of the quick race by way of the sand noticed a big group type up entrance filled with favourites.
Efforts got here and went, together with from Van Empel and Schreiber, as Model battled again from a troublesome begin. However by the beginning of the third lap, a bunch of round a dozen riders led the best way.
Van Empel, Model, Schreiber, and Vos had been up there. So too had been Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck), Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime), Crelan-Corendon trio Sara Casasola, Manon Bakker, and Inge van der Heijden, and French duo Amandine Fouquenet (Arkéa-B&B Resorts) and Célia Gery (AS Bike Racing), and Zoe Backstedt (Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto).
Van Empel and Model each took turns upping the tempo, however at first of the following lap, 11 nonetheless remained within the lead group, prompting Model to as soon as once more push on. This time, a range was made, with Van Empel, Vas and Alvarado following to make it 4 up entrance.
Alvarado could not dangle with the excessive tempo although, and by lap 5 she was chasing at 5 seconds down whereas Casasola (11 seconds) and the bigger chase group (14 seconds) appeared to be out of competition.
However issues did not keep that approach because the tempo slowed up on the asphalt, letting the chasers again in and bringing the numbers on the entrance again to 11. Model, Van Empel and Vas had been joined as soon as once more by Alvarado, Vos, Schreiber, Casasola, Van der Heijden, Fouquenet, Backstedt and Visma-Lease A Bike teen Viktória Chladanová.
Model continued to make the tempo on the entrance on lap six because the end line loomed, with the 35-year-old’s acceleration proving as soon as once more an excessive amount of for many of the riders who had rejoined. She led Van Empel, Vos, and Schreiber into the ultimate phases of the race, although the world champion got here by way of to take over because the quartet dismounted to recover from the beams.
It might keep that approach to the top as Van Empel led the group into the ultimate phases of the closing lap. She opened the dash, distancing Schreiber and Vos, whereas Model may solely keep in her shadow to take second place. Additional again, Vas was the very best of the chase group, coming away with fifth place at 13 seconds down.
Outcomes
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