Van Empel’s plan succeeds: Dutch rider conquers legendary Koppenberg with style, Brand comes in second

November 1st is All Saints’ Day, a holiday in Belgium when the Koppenbergcross is traditionally held. The European Championship doesn’t change this, so a large part of the cyclo-cross world will be traveling on Saturday (or even Friday evening) to Spain and/or Portugal, as the battle for the European title takes place on Sunday in Pontevedra, Galicia. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, one of the big names, stayed away from the Koppenberg.

Van Empel and Brand were the top favorites beforehand. Van Empel wasn’t recognized during the official course inspection, but there was a reason for that. “I was on the course quite early,” she mentioned just before the start. “It’s drier than in other years, but it’s still getting increasingly slippery on the course.” Brand agreed: “It’s not extremely muddy, but it’s very slippery. For me, this Koppenberg is a bigger goal than the European Championship because this course suits me better. But if I do well here, I’ll also be very good in two days.”

At 1:45 p.m., the women’s race began, with the riders immediately charging up the Koppenberg. Just before reaching the finish line for the first time, Brand took the lead, allowing her to dive into the field first. Van Empel and Italian rider Sara Casasola kept pace and even pressed on, with Kata Blanka Vas, in her SD Worx-Protime kit, managing to catch up as well. Annemarie Worst, who had a rough month due to COVID, was also in good form.

However, on the challenging course, Van Empel picked up the pace, gaining a few seconds over Casasola and Vas on the second climb of the Koppenberg. Brand, though, was not immediately fazed and boldly took over again upon re-entering the field. However, Brand’s move was short-lived, as Van Empel struck back with force, opening up a significant gap. By the end of two laps, the lead had already grown to 22 seconds.

Brand switched tire profiles but still faced a 28-second deficit one lap later. Casasola was trailing by over a minute after three of the four laps, while Vas and Worst fell even further behind. Was the race over? It certainly seemed that way for most. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider maintained her lead, knowing that an important race awaited her on Sunday at the World Championships.