Marie Schreiber struggled at the Cyclocross World Cup in Besançon, France, finishing 18th, over four minutes behind the winner, Fem van Empel, and losing her lead in the U23 standings.

Marie Schreiber faced a tough day at the Cyclocross World Cup in Besançon, France, on Sunday, finishing in 18th place with a time deficit of 4 minutes and 22 seconds behind the winner, Fem van Empel from the Netherlands. This was van Empel's third World Cup victory of the season.

The world champion dominated the race, leaving no chance for her competitors. She finished 37 seconds ahead of Lucinda Brand, also from the Netherlands, who took second, while Hungary's Blanka Vas secured third, finishing 1 minute and 2 seconds behind van Empel.

Schreiber started strong and was near the front early on, but a small fall in the slippery conditions during the first lap caused her to lose time and positions. She managed to regroup and move back to 5th place, but struggled in the second half of the race and dropped to 18th, her worst result of the season. As a result, she also lost her lead in the U23 standings to Zoe Backstedt of Great Britain, now trailing by four points.

Two other Luxembourger women, Maïté and Layla Barthels, also participated in the women's race, finishing 45th and 54th, respectively.

In the junior men's race, Luxembourg's Lennox Papi finished in 37th place, 3 minutes and 13 seconds behind the winner, French rider Soren Bruyère Joumard.

Full results

1 VAN EMPEL Fem Visma-Lease a Bike 52:45
2 BRAND Lucinda Baloise Trek Lions 0:37
3 VAS Blanka Kata 1:02
4 BACKSTEDT Zoe 1:51
5 VOS Marianne Visma-Lease a Bike 1:53
6 ALVARADO Ceylin Del Carmen Fenix-Deceuninck 1:57
7 VAN DER HEIJDEN Inge Crelan - Corendon 2:09
8 NORBERT RIBEROLLE Marion Crelan - Corendon 2:25
9 GERY Célia AS Bike Racing 2:29
10 CLAUZEL Hélène 2:40
...
18 SCHREIBER Marie 4:22
45 BARTHELS Maité 9:13
54 BARTHELS Layla -1 Lap