And three: the Dutchman Fem Van Empel became world champion of cyclo-cross for the third consecutive year on Saturday in Liévin, in the north of France, winning in front of her compatriots Lucinda Brand and Puck Pieterse. At only 22 years old, the runner of the Visma-Lease A Bike team perpetuates the implacable domination of the Netherlands in the undergrowth with this fifteenth title for the Orange selection since the first edition, in 2000. She was Imposed on a fatty course and under a magnificent winter sun after a formidable mano a mano with Brand, world champion 2021, which resisted until the last meters before giving in the last embankment. “I did not even realize that I had won so much I had to go far in the effort. It was a tough battle, ”she said after crossing the line with 18 seconds ahead of Brand and 1:09 on Pieterse. The first Frenchwoman, Hélène Clauzel, finished 8th.
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