Lucinda Brand Edges Out Teenager Célia Gery at Koppenbergcross, Fem van Empel Has Tough Day

Lucinda Brand won the Koppenbergcross in the women's category for the first time in her career. The 36-year-old rider held off a very strong Célia Gery—barely 19 years old—in the final lap.

The Koppenberg was wet and therefore particularly challenging this afternoon. Despite this, the very young Gery—crowned world champion in the under-23 road category just weeks ago—was undeterred. Following closely behind Lucinda Brand, Fem van Empel, and Sara Casasola, the three top favorites for the victory, she tackled the cobbled climb with agility.

Marion Norbert-Riberolle, the Belgian champion, fared less well and would never get to the front. Fem van Empel also lost position after position halfway through the opening lap. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider shook her head ‘no’ in the technical zone and withdrew. She continued to shake her head ‘no’ for a long time afterward in discussions with her team.

🚵🇧🇪 | What’s happening here? Fem van Empel withdraws after the first lap. The world champion seems to feel completely unwell. 🙁 #Koppenbergcross

📺 Stream the race on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/frwGQFwpiY

— Eurosport Netherlands (@Eurosport_NL) November 1, 2025

Van Empel was visibly emotional at the moment of her withdrawal, after starting well earlier in the race. Last week she had to forfeit the Druivencross in Overijse, another classic on the cyclocross calendar just like the Koppenbergcross. At that time, according to her team, she was not fully fit after claiming the fiftieth victory of her career at the Heerderstrand cross earlier that week.

Sara Casasola took the lead but her advantage would not last long. The tenacious Italian took herself out of contention with a crash on one of the many tricky descents. At the end of the first—fairly long—lap of about eleven minutes, Brand appeared at the front for the first time. Together with the still young Célia Gery, she pulled away from the other French rider Amandine Fouquenet.

On the cobbled climb, Gery had to concede a few seconds to Brand, whose engine was fully firing now. In laps two and three, Brand built a reassuring lead of about twenty seconds over the Frenchwoman, but that came to an abrupt end in the final lap.

Halfway through the last lap, Gery delivered an impressive effort on the slanted section, chipping away at a significant part of the gap. Gery was unleashed now and seemed poised to catch the more cautious Brand. But by the end, it turned out Gery had overextended herself a bit.

Brand started the last cobbled climb with a nice lead and pushed herself to the limit. Immediately after the finish, an exhausted Brand sat down on the cobbles, satisfied after her first-ever victory in the Koppenbergcross.