Van Empel, who prolonged her European title three weeks ago, proved to be sharp right from the start in Kortrijk. In the first round, she quickly took the lead and managed to ride away from the competitors. In the following rounds, the world champion steadily increased her lead, so she soloed to victory. Behind Van Empel, Imogen Wolff fought her way to a great sixth place on her cross debut for Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women.

“I am very happy to be back,” Van Empel looked back. “It's very nice to come back and then to be able to win right away. I had no questions about whether I would be good because I have not been sitting still for the past few weeks and have been able to train well. I immediately started riding at a high pace to keep myself warm. I enjoyed the race, and I am greatly looking forward to tomorrow's race because of the beautiful course and the strong field of competitors.”

Wolff, who made her cross debut for the team today, looks back with a satisfied feeling. “It's nice to be back because I missed cyclocross. My start wasn't very good, but luckily, I was able to move up quickly. I didn't make many mistakes, so I'm happy with my sixth place. Tomorrow, the field of competitors is stronger, so I'm curious to see how far I can get.”