Like Van Empel (Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal), Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Fenix) and Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise Trek Lions) were born in 2002. Their consistent performances in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup have put them at the helm of the Under 23 rankings, and they challenge their elders in the Elite standings, with Pieterse (3rd, 199 points) setting a strong pace ahead of Van Empel (4th, 173 points) and Van Anrooij (5th, 140 points).
Ahead of this weekend’s double-header in Rucphen (the Netherlands) and Namur (Belgium), the three rising stars look back at their autumn and share their ambitions for the winter.
2021-2022: “Better than expected”
Fem van Empel: “Last Sunday was my first Elite podium in a World Cup. It’s very important because I made it a goal before this season, but I never expected that I could win! In the last corner, Marianne fell. It was very exciting, but I tried to stay calm. Marianne is an example for the young girls in the Netherlands and she’s important for the sport. She won every race, she won the UCI World Championships many times, so she’s an inspiration and that makes my victory very special.”
A spectacular race in Italy with an even more spectacular finish! 🇮🇹 Relive Fem van Empel’s first professional victory! 👏 #CXWorldCup pic.twitter.com/5ct2JsIgn1
— UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup (@UCIcyclocrossWC) December 12, 2021
Puck Pieterse: “I think this season is going better than expected. I didn’t expect to get on the podium of World Cups, and it’s been twice already so this is really above my expectations. Val di Sole was a very special race. I think not many of us had ridden such a course before. I did the recon on Saturday, it went ok, I crashed a few times already. You need to find some kind of feeling on the bike, and then on Sunday it went ok. I made a few too many mistakes to get higher in the top 10, but every top 10 in a UCI World Cup is good.”
Shirin van Anrooij: “I’ve been training in Spain for the Christmas block and for the road season as well, but I’m flying back to race both Rucphen and Namur. Fem was really glowing last season, and what she did in Val di Sole was so strong! With Puck, I think this is the first season that we’ve really made a bigger step, fighting for the podium and the top 5 in UCI World Cups. This is the first year we’re really racing against Elite women and now we know we can be towards the very front, and we can create the race as well instead of just trying to follow and end with the best position possible.”
A new generation: “It’s really cool to do that with three Dutch girls”
Fem van Empel: “I ended my football career in 2019, two years ago. It’s nice to see that I improve every week. It goes very fast. I never expected that. We were all born in 2002, we’re 19 years old and this is our second year in the Under 23 category. We are three different riders. Shirin is very fast in straight races. Puck is very technical, and I think I’m very explosive. But we are missing some power. Lucinda [Brand] is 13 years older than us and she has more power than us.”
Puck Pieterse: “When I was younger, I always watched cyclo-cross on the TV, and now I ride with girls I looked up to, and still look up to. I aspire to be as good as them some day, but it’s really cool that I can make their races difficult sometimes. For sure, I think the youngsters can really inspire each other, and push each other to get great results. We have already ridden together in the youth categories, and it’s really cool to see that we’re all three pushing through in the Elite category. It's motivating.”
Shirin van Anrooij: “There’s always competition inside the competition. We want to perform with the Elite women, but we also want to finish in front of each other. And at the same time, I’m really happy for Puck, when she’s coming 2nd in a race, or Fem when she wins a World Cup. It’s really cool to do that with three Dutch girls, and you can see that we all have our own qualities. For me, the sand racing suits me really well, Puck likes something like Overijse, muddy and technical, and Fem… well apparently in snow she’s really good!”
Destination World Championships: “America is a big goal”
Fem van Empel: “I want to focus on the National Championships but I don’t know if it will be organised given the Corona situation in the Netherlands. But it’s a goal, at the beginning of January, and I’m also targeting the UCI World Championships. I will ride in the Under 23 category. I will race all the UCI World Cups. I look at the standings week by week. Puck stands first now, with a 26-point lead. I will do my best and we will see if I can overtake her in the end.”
Puck Pieterse: “For the rest of the season, I’m pretty focused on the UCI World Championships and on the World Cup standings. America is a big goal. I’m planning to ride the Under 23. I made it a goal this season to race all the UCI World Cups, and to finish as high as possible in the overall standings. So I’m very happy that I’m currently standing in 3rd and leading the Under 23, of course.”
Shirin van Anrooij: “I’m only racing the World Cups, so the standings are a goal, but I did decide to skip Val di Sole, while otherwise I could maybe have kept the 4th place. I’m not 100% sure if I’ll be racing in Flamanville, although I look at the GC and it’s the best position I ever had so that's interesting. I’m working towards the UCI World Championships in the USA. I’ll be racing with the Under 23.”