Dutch cyclo-cross star Fem van Empel, 24, is set to return to competitive cycling with French team FDJ-Suez (a professional women's cycling squad that also fields top rider Demi Vollering) after pausing her career in December 2024, citing a loss of joy for the sport. Team director Lars Boom confirmed the plan is to first ease Van Empel back through cyclo-cross — the off-road winter discipline in which she has won three European and three world titles — before building toward road racing. Her break followed a difficult autumn season that included stepping off her bike mid-race at the Koppenbergcross and withdrawing from the European Championships, prompting her to acknowledge that both her body and mind had sent her a clear signal to stop.