Fem van Empel (born 3 September 2002) is a Dutch professional racing cyclist.[3][4] In January 2021, she won the women's under-23 race at the 2021 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.[5][6] During the 2022–2023 season she won the women's elite race at the World Championships and the European Cyclo-cross Championships. On 22 January 2023, she secured overall victory at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup (2022–23). On 16 Feb 2023 at Brussels, Fem clinched the X20 Badkamers Trophy.[7] The previous week, her first race in the World Champions jersey, competing in the X20 Badkamers at Lille she finished 1st doing a "Pidcock" (posing as Superwoman) across the finish line.[8] In the cyclo cross season 2023 to 2024 Fem Van Empel was first in her first eleven races. Having finished the previous season with five successive firsts, it brought her run of first places in top level Cyclocross to sixteen.[9] Fem Van Empel retained her UCI World Championship at Tábor on 3 February 2024. One respected commentator (Marty McCrossan) noted he had "run out of superlatives to describe Fems phenomenal talent", calling her "The Golden Girl of Cyclocross". Another (Ian Field) described her performance as " pretty much perfection" .[10] "Velo" noted that "her 18th victory out of what has been (so far) a 20-race season" is "a staggering success rate " [11].Fem completed her 2023 to 2024 season with a win to take the X²O Badkamers Trophy at Lille on 11 Feb. This took her number of wins for the season to 19 from 21 races. [12] At the end of season 2023 to 2024 Fems' career total number of Elite level Cyclo-cross race wins was 37. [13] [14] [15]
 Van Empel on the podium at the 2022 European Cyclo-cross Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname | SuperFem [1][2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 September 2002 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current team | Team Jumbo–Visma | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Cyclo-cross & Road | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amateur team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | WV Schijndel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional teams | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Team Jumbo–Visma | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Major wins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Major results edit
Cyclo-cross edit
- 2019–2020
- 3rd National Junior Championships
- 5th UCI World Junior Championships
- 2020–2021
- 1st
UCI World Under-23 Championships - UCI World Cup
- 4th Dendermonde
- 2021–2022
- 1st
National Under-23 Championships - UCI World Cup
- 1st Val di Sole
- 1st Flamanville
- 4th Besançon
- 4th Rucphen
- 4th Namur
- 4th Hoogerheide
- 5th Zonhoven
- 5th Hulst
- Superprestige
- 2nd Heusden-Zolder
- Ethias Cross
- 2nd Lokeren
- 3rd
UCI World Under-23 Championships - 3rd
UEC European Under-23 Championships - 2022–2023
- UCI World Championships
- 1st Elite race
- 1st Team relay
- 1st
- 1st
UEC European Championships - 1st
Overall UCI World Cup
- 1st Overall X²O Badkamers Trophy
- Exact Cross
- 3rd National Championships
- 2023–2024
- 1st UCI World Championships
- 1st UEC European Championships
- 1st Overall X²O Badkamers Trophy
- 4th Overall UCI World Cup
- 1st Waterloo
- 1st Maasmechelen
- 1st Antwerpen
- 1st Benidorm
- 1st Hoogerheide
- 2nd Gavere
- 4th Hulst
- Superprestige
- 1st Overijse
- 1st Boom
- 1st Heusden-Zolder
- Exact Cross
- 1st Beringen
- 1st Woerden
Gravel edit
- 2023
- 1st National Championships
- 2nd
UEC European Championships
Mountain bike edit
- 2019
- 3rd Cross-country, National Junior Championships
- 2020
- 2nd Cross-country, National Junior Championships
- 3rd Eliminator, UCI World Championships
- 2021
- 2nd Eliminator, UEC European Championships
- 2022
- 1st Cross-country, National Under-23 Championships
- 2nd Cross-country, UEC European Under-23 Championships
Road edit
- 2022
- 3rd Road race, UEC European Under-23 Championships
- 2023
- 1st Stage 3 Tour de l'Avenir
- 6th Arnhem–Veenendaal Classic
- 8th Road race, UEC European Under-23 Championships
- 2024
- 8th La Flèche Wallonne Féminine
References edit
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/shorts/L7swQA-i_EQ
- ^ https://cyclingmagazine.ca/cyclocross/superwoman-van-empel-wins-first-race-in-the-rainbow-jersey/
- ^ "Meet the 18-year-old cyclocross sensation who's taking it to the world's best". Cycling Tips. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ "18-year-old Fem van Empel signs professional contract with Pauwels Sauces: 'The youngest cyclocross topper since Marianne Vos in 2004'". Netherlands News Live. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ "Fem van Empel takes U23 world cyclocross title". Velo News. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ "Fem van Empel wint goud op WK veldrijden voor beloften vrouwen". Wielerflits. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ "GCN+ | Cycling As You've Never Seen It". plus.globalcyclingnetwork.com. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "GCN+ | Cycling As You've Never Seen It". plus.globalcyclingnetwork.com. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "Fem van Empel - Cyclocross". Cyclocross24.com. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ https://www.discoveryplus.com/gb/video/sport/dplus-sport-dplus-sport-sport/world-championship-6033325
- ^ https://velo.outsideonline.com/cyclocross/cyclocross-racing/fem-van-empel-streets-ahead-on-muddy-world-cyclocross-champs-course-in-tabor/
- ^ https://www.teamvismaleaseabike.com/race-report/news/van-empel-rounds-off-great-cross-season-with-victory-in-lille/
- ^ https://cyclocross24.com/rider/fem-van-empel/
- ^ https://cyclocross24.com/rider/fem-van-empel/results/2022-2023/
- ^ https://cyclocross24.com/rider/fem-van-empel/results/2021-2022/
External links edit
- Fem van Empel at UCI
- Fem van Empel at Cycling Archives
- Fem van Empel at ProCyclingStats
- Fem van Empel at CycleBase
- Fem van Empel at MTB Data
- Fem van Empel at UCI
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