The cyclocross world champion and Visma-Lease a Bike are parting ways by mutual agreement from 1st January.
Kristof Ramon, Cor Vos
Fem van Empel has announced that she is putting her professional cyclocross career on pause for an indefinite period, and with that, she and her team Visma-Lease a Bike have come to a mutual agreement that her obligations to the team will cease from 1 January 2026.
“During the Koppenbergcross, my body and mind gave a very clear signal,” Van Empel said in quotes included in the team’s announcement. “I am someone who doesn’t give up easily, but unconsciously, a decision had already formed then. This feels like the right step for me now.”
Van Empel during this year’s Trofeo Alfredo Binda, her second of three road races with Visma-Lease a Bike in 2025.
The Koppenbergcross (1 November) was the 23-year-old’s fourth race of the ’25-26 cyclocross season, which came after a lengthy hiatus from competition as physical and mental strain mounted on the young rider. Van Empel initially stepped back from road racing after Strade Bianche and the Trofeo Alfredo Binda in March. Then in September, she raced once more time on the road at the GP Fourmies Féminine, while also revealing her commitment to cyclocross going forward, saying at the time, “I’m going to do what I love most.“
After stretching her legs at the Gravel National Championships in late September, the three-time elite CX world champion returned to the field a month later at Superprestige Ruddervoorde, before two days later taking her first win of the season at Nacht van Woerden. Her second win inside a week came at Heerderstrand and marked the 50th of her career, for which she came prepared with a unique celebration.
This post is for subscribers only
Subscribe now
Already have an account? Sign in
Did we do a good job with this story?
👍Yep
👎Nope