Mud spectacle in Namur: This was the 2022 European Cyclocross Championships

At the European Cyclocross Championships in Namur on Saturday and Sunday, six European Championship titles were awarded in the men's and women's categories. The highlights of the title fights were the elite class competitions for women and men.

Van der Haar & Vanthourenhout characterise men's race

The men's elite class race was dominated by two riders: Lars van der Haar and Michael Vanthourenhout. The latter's compatriot Eli Iserbyt played no part in the medals after dropping back due to technical problems.

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Van der Haar led the race for a long time. But then Vanthourenhout, who would later become European champion, came more and more to the fore, dominated the action and in the end distanced van der Haar by a clear 40 seconds. Third place went to Laurens Sweeck from Belgium, who crossed the finish line 2:17 minutes behind.

Vanthourenhout overjoyed

The German riders did not make it into the top ten. The best placed rider was Marcel Meisen in 15th place: "The victory means a lot to me. I've never won the European champion's jersey in the elite class before. This is the biggest victory of my life. It's wonderful," said Vanthourenhout after the race.

Result: Cyclocross European Championship Men Elite - Top 5

1. Michael Vanthournhout (Belgium) 1:06:47
2. Lars van der Haar (Netherlands) +0:40
3. Laurens Sweeck (Belgium) +2:17
4. Joris Nieuwenhuis (Netherlands) +2:48
5. Kevin Kuhn (Switzerland) +2:51

Fem van Empel was crowned European champion in the women's elite class for the first time. The 20-year-old Dutchwoman had to race to catch up. A puncture caused her to fall behind at one point.

Van Empel catches up at the European Cyclocross Championships

However, her spirited riding style enabled her to catch up with the front of the race again. With her compatriot Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, she finally overtook her last rival and crossed the finish line 22 seconds ahead of Alvarado. Blanka Vas from Hungary took bronze. Stefanie Paul from Germany finished in 21st place, but for van Empel it was her eighth win of the season.

"After the puncture, I wanted to finish the race in such a way that I wouldn't have anything to blame myself for afterwards. I found a good pace and made up some ground on every lap. I never thought I would take home the jersey. I can't believe it. Namur is an iconic course that was very slippery today. But I like this course. It was a bit like a mountain bike race," explained the newly crowned European champion van Empel. The four-time MTB world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot competed at the European Cross-Country Championships after switching to Ineos-Grenadiers, finishing in seventh place.

Result: Cyclocross European Championship Women Elite - Top 5

1. Fem van Empel (Netherlands) 50:25
2. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Netherlands) +0:22
3. Blanka Vas (Hungary) +0:36
4. Denise Betsema (Netherlands) +0:46
5. Sara Casasola (Italy) +1:53