Fem van Empel geselecteerd voor Nederlands team bij Europese Cyclocross Kampioenschappen in Zeddam

Fem van Empel will line up for the Netherlands at this weekend’s European Cyclo-cross Championships in Zeddam, the Dutch federation confirmed Monday when it named the 24-year-old to an eight-rider women’s selection for the home race in Gelderland, Wielernieuws reported. The selection gives the three-time world and European champion a fresh chance to show what her comeback has built, after a season in which she has not yet been able to ride for a win.

The news lands at a delicate point in Van Empel’s return. She stepped away from cycling for a time last year after saying she had lost the pleasure in the sport, according to NOS, and made her comeback this fall, racing three cyclo-cross events in recent weeks.

Scouting Zeddam from the bike saddle

Van Empel has already ridden the Zeddam course. After finishing eighth at the Koppenbergcross, she told reporters she had cycled past the parcours and taken a look. Preparation is half the battle, she said with a wink. “It’s in the Netherlands, and it’s always nice to ride in your own country,” she said. “From the footage, it’s a nice lap.”

Her ambition is clear, but so is her caution.

“It hasn’t been an easy year for me,” Van Empel said after the Koppenbergcross. “I’ll tell my real story at the end of the year to give more explanation.” She added that she is above all proud to stand there and to ride for a new team. “Nothing is a must.”

A 99-step staircase waits in Gelderland

The course in Zeddam carries a famous obstacle: a staircase of 99 steps that returns after a full renovation, Wielerflits reported. The town has not hosted cyclo-cross for nearly 20 years, with the last race there in 2007, and the steps were a notorious feature of the World Cup and national championship races held in Zeddam in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Erwin Vervecken, who won the world title in Zeddam and built the course for the 2026 edition, said no staircase in cyclo-cross compares to these 99 steps. The difficulty lies mainly in the length, he said: riders must count on an effort of almost half a minute, and toward the end it is pure focus on breathing and legs. You may not win the race on the stairs, but you can lose it there, Vervecken said. Riders need to pace themselves and not go crazy.

Thibau Nys, who has trained on stairs including the Keizersberg in Leuven, said the steps will be a focal point but doubted they will decide the race, comparing them to the “Stairway to Heaven” at the Hoogerheide World Cup. Joris Nieuwenhuis, a local rider who scouted the new staircase last week, called it something that never normally appears in cross and simply heavy. Ultimately, he said, riders just need to be fit and healthy; those who are not in shape will feel it.

For many riders the rest of the course remains a mystery. Lucinda Brand, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Michael Vanthourenhout have no idea what awaits them in Gelderland; Brand said the 2006 world championship there is not well remembered and that she has only watched some videos.

Brand leads a deep Dutch squad

National coach Gerben de Knegt, who became Dutch champion in Zeddam in 2002, named a selection the KNWU called broad and promising. Alongside Van Empel, the women’s team includes reigning world champion Lucinda Brand, who looks like the team’s leading contender, current European champion Inge van der Heijden, and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Aniek van Alphen, Denise Betsema, Leonie Bentveld and Manon Bakker. De Knegt described the race as an almost mythical cross on a hilly course.

In the men’s race, Joris Nieuwenhuis, Mees Hendrikx, Ryan Kamp, Pim Ronhaar and Danny van Lierop will represent the Netherlands. Mathieu van der Poel is absent, as expected; the eight-time world champion is staying in Spain to train and has for years opened his cyclo-cross season only after the European Championships, NOS reported.

Race day in Zeddam

The women race on Saturday and the men on Sunday, both starting at 14:50 local time (13:50 UTC) and broadcast live on NPO 1 and via NOS.nl and the NOS app, according to NOS.

Questions readers are asking

Why did Fem van Empel stop cycling last year? NOS reported that she temporarily stopped because she had lost the pleasure in riding. She returned this fall and has raced three cyclo-cross events since.

When and where are the European Championships? The races take place this weekend in Zeddam, in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The women race Saturday at 14:50 local time and the men Sunday at the same time, both on NPO 1.

What makes the Zeddam course unusual? Wielerflits reported that a renovated staircase of 99 steps returns to the course, an effort of nearly half a minute that Erwin Vervecken says no other cyclo-cross staircase matches.

Is Mathieu van der Poel racing? No. NOS reported he is training in Spain and, as in past years, opens his cyclo-cross season after the European Championships.