Dry and very fast race in the penultimate stage of the Cyclocross World Cup in Spain: a different route than usual which made the race very battled with narrow gaps. Great to see such an audience: 15.000 spectators declared!
The race saw the fight between the 3 most active athletes of the moment, namely Van Anrooij, Van Empel and Pieterse with our Silvia Persico, fresh from the Italian championship.
It is impressive to see how the terrible Dutch trio are only 21 years of age: they are all part of the U23 category but on February 5th, at the World Championships, they chose to compete among the Elites.
The race saw a two-way fight between Pieterse and Van Empel, who continued to tease and attack each other throughout the race. Behind Persico and Van Anrooij they tried not to lose contact from 2: certainly today, the less technical route favored Van Empel against the 2 more technical riders Pieterse and Van Anrooij.
Last lap elbow to elbow between Pieterse and Van Empel but in the end Van Empel prevailed, with more power in the long Spanish straights. Pieterse settles for 2nd place while Van Anrooij is third. Silvia Persico finishes in 4th place, just 21″ from the winner.
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ORDER OF ARRIVAL
| 1 |  VAN EMPEL Fem | JUMBO VISMA | 52:47 |
| 2 | PIETERSE Puck | ALPECIN - DECEUNINCK | 0:03 |
| 3 | VAN ANROOIJ Shirin | BALOISE TREK LIONS | 0:13 |
| 4 |  PERSIAN Sylvia | FAS Airport Services | 0:21 |
| 5 | BRAND Lucinda | BALOISE TREK LIONS | 0:53 |
| 6 | WORST Annemarie | 777 | 0:55 |
| 7 |  BACKSTEDT Zoe | 1:18 | |
| 8 |  BURQUIER Line | 1:33 | |
| 9 |  ROCHETTE Maghalie | 1:50 | |
| 10 | CLAUZEL Helene | AS BIKE RACING | 1:52 |
WORLD CUP STANDINGS WITH 1 STAGE FROM THE END
| 1 | VAN EMPEL Fem | 395 |
| 2 | PIETERSE Puck | 350 |
| 3 | VAN ANROOIJ Shirin | 264 |
| 4 | VAN DER HEIJDEN Eng | 221 |
| 5 | ALVARADO Ceylin Del Carmen | 203 |
