“Reaching my 50th victory was definitely one of my goals for this winter, so it’s fantastic that it’s already happened today,” Van Empel said afterwards. “I had secretly thought about a possible celebration beforehand, and a sign with ‘50’ on it seemed quite fitting. I really enjoyed this one.”  

Van Empel had a strong start on the tough course around the Heerderstrand, but an early bike change forced her to chase. In the following lap, she fought her way back to the front. In the penultimate lap, Van Empel joined race leader Bentveld, while Van Alphen was also still in contention for the win. In the end, Van Empel proved to be the most composed rider in the technical finale, taking her 50th professional cyclo-cross victory in convincing fashion.  

“I had a good start, but decided to change bikes in the opening lap after someone rode into me. It was a tough course, so the gap was still manageable. In the final phase, I put Van Alphen under pressure in the technical section. Mistakes were easy to make on this course, and in the end I gained a small advantage. That turned out to be enough to make the difference today.”