X²O Badkamers Trophy 2024 – 2 – KORTRIJK [FULL RACE] (ladies)

November 25, 2023

X²O Badkamers Trophy 2024 WE 🇧🇪 – Trofee Kortrijk – Urban Cross Kortrijk, Belgium

The X²O Badkamers Trofee is one of four major, season-long cyclocross series. With its first edition dating back to 1987 it’s the second-oldest of Europe’s series. The X²O Badkamers Trofee is unique in the world of cyclocross, as unlike other series that award points after every race, the X²O Badkamers Trofee is effectively a season-long stage race, with the overall winner being the fastest over all of the eight races across the season. That’s not always been the case though, prior to switching over to this new system in the 2012/13 season the series ran on points, just like the other series. If a rider misses or does not finish at a round, it’s still technically possible for them to win as ‘non-finishers’. Lapped riders and non-starters are given the winner’s time, plus 5 minutes. Miss too many rounds, however, and these 5 minute-long deficits soon add up and create an insurmountable gap. For that reason, this is a series that riders often compete in throughout the season, rather than picking and choosing individual rounds. Riders at the X²O Badkamers Trofee are encouraged to have a fast start, not only because it will give them an advantage in the race, but the ‘Quick Start’ classification means that the first rider across the start/finish line after the first lap gets a 15-second bonus for their final overall time, with 10 seconds and 5 seconds going to second and third across the line, respectively. These time bonuses could prove to be vital in the outcome of the overall standings, especially if this year’s series is closely contested.

Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma) maintained her 100% win record in the 2023-24 cyclocross season at round 2 of the X2O Trofee series in Kortrijk, recovering from a rare early crash and powering away from Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) to take another solo victory.

The World Champion hit the deck on the second lap as she lost control behind Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) and catapulted towards the barriers, but Van Empel wasn’t phased and worked instead to regain the time lost to Pieterse on Brand, utilising her power on the long straights to cut the deficit.

Once she rejoined Pieterse at the front, it was an ominous sign of her strength even after two weekends off from racing cyclocross after claiming the European title.

Brand would snatch the lead off the two 21-year-olds, but as Pieterse dropped her chain and had to stop, Van Empel smelled blood and made the race-winning move, catching and passing Brand in a flash to pull away for her eighth win of the season.

The supreme Dutchwoman extended her lead in the X2O Trofee series to a seemingly insurmountable, barring incident, 4:15 over Denise Betsema (Pauwels-Sauzen-Bingoal), with Brand in third 5:51 behind.

Van Empel’s winning margin was 26 seconds from Brand, who has been building nicely since returning from her injury sustained at the end of the road season, with Pieterse 1:05 down by the time she crossed the line.

“It’s amazing, it felt quite good during the race,” said Van Empel. “Sadly I had a crash on the second lap and that cost me a little bit of energy, but I kept my focus the whole race and that was enough.”

The podium was close to that from the last World Championships in Hoogerheide with Brand and Pieterse swapping places, and was the first time the trio have raced each other this season with their various breaks and injury recovery periods.

Van Empel won’t be at tomorrow’s World Cup round in Dublin and confirmed why in her interview in Dutch that she prefers to race only once a weekend at the moment given how young she still is at only 21.

Pieterse similarly won’t be making the trip over to Ireland, but Brand will as she headlines that round of the World Cup alongside Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado as the big favourites heading in.

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