{"id":363167,"date":"2025-12-21T20:36:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T20:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/363167\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T20:36:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T20:36:08","slug":"we-all-know-that-feeling-cross-rivals-react-to-van-empel-shock-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/363167\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We all know that feeling\u2019: Cross rivals react to Van Empel shock announcement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The decision by 23-year-old cyclo-cross world champion Fem van Empel to step away from racing for an indefinite period has landed hard across the women\u2019s peloton. What resonates most with her rivals is not the lost victories, but Van Empel\u2019s admission that the joy had drained out of riding \u2014 a feeling many at the top recognize.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course the racing goes on,\u201d Ceylin Alvarado said to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wielerflits.nl\/nieuws\/collega-topcrossers-begrijpen-gevoel-fem-van-empel-we-komen-aan-de-top-omdat-we-kritisch-zijn\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WielerFlits<\/a>. \u201cBut when the world champion isn\u2019t there, you feel it. And especially for these reasons. I just hope she finds her way back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Van Empel\u2019s absence leaves a clear sporting gap. Over recent seasons she collected dozens of wins, including multiple world and European titles, often setting the benchmark for the discipline. But for Puck Pieterse, the loss is about more than results.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want to race the very best,\u201d Pieterse <a href=\"https:\/\/cyclingmagazine.ca\/cyclocross\/another-lucinda-brand-masterclass-at-sandy-koksijde-world-cup\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a>. \u201cFem showed how high the level can be. We\u2019re the same generation \u2014 Fem, Shirin van Anrooij and me \u2014 and it\u2019s nicer when you\u2019re all there together. Not just in the race, but before and after, walking the course, cooling down. She\u2019ll be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lucinda Brand, who has been killing it in Van Empel\u2019s absence, echoed that sentiment. \u201cYou already noticed something was different,\u201d she said. \u201cBut riding without enjoyment is much worse than missing races. If you\u2019re only getting in your own way, that\u2019s no place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pieterse stressed that the issue is rarely the bike itself. \u201cYou start because you love cycling. But at the highest level, so much more is demanded \u2014 weighing food, altitude camps, heat training, counting carbs. Those expectations can become the real burden.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brand pointed to the mindset that drives athletes to the top. \u201cWe get there because we\u2019re extremely self-critical. That pressure comes from everywhere \u2014 coaches, teams, the outside world. Not everyone handles it the same, especially when you\u2019re young.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Above all, the message from the peloton is one of support. \u201cI hope she finds some mental peace,\u201d Brand said. \u201cIf this decision brings her calm and lets her do things that make her happy again, then that matters most. Sport can wait.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, on the Canadian side, national champion Maghalie Rochette has suspended her Euro campaign after the Antwerp round on Saturday. Check the webpages of Canadian Cycling Magazine on Monday for more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The decision by 23-year-old cyclo-cross world champion Fem van Empel to step away from racing for an indefinite&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,149781,166194,165117,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-363167","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-fem-van-empel","12":"tag-lucinda-brand","13":"tag-puck-pieterse","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}