Young cyclocross star Fem van Empel will finally get to make the switch to Jumbo Visma on January 1st 2023. The team had wanted to make the transfer earlier but Van Empel’s team Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal didn’t want to release the Dutch rider from her contract. With the contract due to expire, the transfer has been confirmed for the middle of the cyclocross season. On 1st January, Van Empel will be able to represent in the yellow and black of Jumbo Visma and join Marianne Vos on the cyclocross side of things.
“Compared to Marianne, I’m still a rookie, but I hope we can do something for each other in the second half of the cross season. After all, you are stronger together than alone.
Joining a WorldTour team is the highest attainable goal for a rider and I am now being offered that opportunity. I am very confident that I will receive the right guidance here to further develop myself. Not only in terms of training and equipment, but also when it comes to nutrition, for example.
I would like to discover what I can still achieve on the mountain bike and Team Jumbo-Visma will support me in this. I don’t have much experience on the road yet, but I’m open to anything. I want to find out where my qualities lie. I can’t wait to start in the spring classics and compete in multi-day races.
I’m pretty all-round, I think. I can handle both uphill and flat terrain. And I’m quite explosive, so sprinting or an uphill finish should suit me.”
Fem van Empel
Van Empel will hope to emulate her U23 rival Shirin van Anrooij by becoming a solid threat on the road as well as off-road. In 2021, the only road races Van Empel has done were the Thuringen Ladies Tour and the U23 road race at the European Championships. The 20-year-old has signed to Jumbo Visma was an initial 2 years.
