Shirin van Anrooij continues to cross the victories. In the Kuil van Zonhoven, the Dutch did not let herself be caught making a mistake. World Cup leader Fem van Empel was a bit sick and made a double somersault in the opening round. As 3rd, she did limit the damage to close attacker Puck Pieterse (2nd).
Fem van Empel said before the start that she felt a bit ill, the first round of study with the Kuil van Zonhoven was not the desired medicine.
The Dutch made a hard blow and she didn’t stay straight on the next descent either.
Her confidence barometer dropped below zero after that double somersault, but Van Empel recovered afterwards.
She limited the damage in places, but at the very front the story was soon written. It was a question of who could keep the burden of error to a minimum.
Shirin van Anrooij took Puck Pieterse on her luggage carrier for a while, but after a bite of sand from Pieterse, the winner was already filled for a third of this cross.
A confident and clear Van Anrooij won just like in Koksijde. The woman of the moment was joined by Pieterse and Van Empel.
Winner Van Anrooij: “I may not have had to give 100 percent”
“It was tough, but I was in a very good flow and I found the right lines”, laughed Shirin van Anrooij. “I had a lot of confidence and then it’s one of the nicest things.”
“I may not have had to give myself 100 percent,” she was somewhat surprised.
“I tried to make the gap as big as possible so that I had to take fewer risks afterwards. I certainly suffered, but not as much as in other competitions.”
Van Anrooij is a favorite for the World Cup, but is still unsure between the promises and professionals. “This only makes it more difficult,” she confessed.
“If I had finished outside the top 3 here, I would have gone for the U23. But now the doubts are returning. It remains to be seen. I will definitely skip next weekend’s Dutch Championship.”
Fem van Empel: “A lot of trouble after that crash”
“This is very disappointing”, Fem van Empel laughed green. “Back number 13, we’ll put it on that,” she said about her back number.
“I did suffer a lot from that first fall. I was able to return on adrenaline and the audience was great. I can be happy with my 3rd place.”
“I don’t lose many points on Puck (Pieterse), but that first round is a great pity. We now have to wait and see how my knee reacts, but I did have good legs.”
