Marie Schreiber wins HG Cross Meulebeke 2026 as Van Empel returns fourth

Marie Schreiber won the 2026 HG Cross Meulebeke after breaking clear of Aniek van Alphen in the closing laps, taking her first Meulebeke victory in 46:32.

The Team SD Worx-Protime rider finished 15 seconds ahead of Van Alphen, with world champion Lucinda Brand third at 30 seconds after recovering from an early crash. Fem van Empel marked her return to cyclocross with fourth at 35 seconds, one second ahead of Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado.

Schreiber had finished second behind Brand at Kermiscross Ardooie two days earlier, but the heavier Meulebeke conditions played to her technical strengths once the race began to split.

How it unfolded

Denise Betsema set the early pace, opening a small gap with Brand during the first lap. Brand’s race changed in the second lap when she crashed on the slippery course and hurt her ankle, forcing her into a long chase rather than the front-running race expected before the start.

Betsema kept pushing while the favourites regrouped behind, but the Dutch rider began to lose momentum after mistakes on one of the short banks and a bike problem. Van Alphen took over at the front as the race entered its middle phase.

Schreiber moved steadily through the field rather than matching the fastest opening lap. By the fourth of six laps she had joined Van Alphen at the front, with Alvarado the closest chaser and a group containing Van Empel, Brand and Annemarie Worst further behind.

The two leaders built a gap of around 10 seconds before Schreiber began to put Van Alphen under pressure. Schreiber was particularly clean through the technical sections and gradually opened daylight as Van Alphen started to make small errors.

Brand was meanwhile producing one of the rides of the race. Despite the earlier crash, she detached herself from the chasing group and moved back towards the podium positions. She began the final lap 17 seconds behind the leaders but could not close enough to challenge Schreiber.

Schreiber made the decisive separation on the last lap. Van Alphen could no longer hold the wheel, and the Luxembourg champion extended the gap to 15 seconds by the finish. Brand crossed at 30 seconds, limiting the damage from her crash well enough to take third.

Van Empel’s return was another major part of the afternoon. Starting well back on the grid after almost a year away from cyclocross, she moved forward throughout the race and eventually finished fourth, 35 seconds behind Schreiber and one second ahead of Alvarado.

It was Schreiber’s third win from four cyclocross starts this season. Van Alphen spent much of the race at the front before yielding on the final lap, while Brand’s recovery from her early crash was enough to salvage the final podium place.

The women’s Meulebeke preview had centred on Brand and Van Empel, but Schreiber was the rider who made the fewest mistakes once the course became slicker and more selective.

HG Cross Meulebeke Women 2026 Result