Puck Pieterse stuns world champ to win debut elite World Cup in Nove Mesto
Dutch racer puts Pauline Ferrand-Prévot on the defensive in XCO season opener
Photo by:
Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
Puck Pieterse launched into the elite mountain bike ranks at full speed on Sunday in Nove Mesto. The Dutch cyclocross specialist held off world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot to win in her first elite World Cup appearance.
Canadians in Czech Republic
Jenn Jackson (Liv Factory Racing) led the Canadians in the elite women’s race, finishing 35th in Nove Mesto. Sandra Walter (Liv Canada) followed in 66th, Cindy Montambault (Project Dialed-In) 76th and Laurie Arseneault (Pittstop Racing) 87th.
Pieterse announces her arrival
Puck Pieterse (Alpecin Fenix) put the field on notice early in the race, taking the hole shot and leading early in the start loop. The 21-year-old Dutch rider is among the ranks of top cyclocrossers that are expanding into road and mountain bike with great success. The Alpecin-Fenix racer already has a fifth at Strade Bianchi and a second at elite cyclocross world champs to her name this year, and is clearly looking to add a mountain bike result to that race resume. After a successful under-23 mountain bike season last year, she looks comfortable taking the race to the elites in Nove Mesto, in her first elite mountain bike World Cup. Fem van Empel, another Dutch cross racer, also shows up on the front of the race early on.
It isn’t long before established elite powerhouses Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing), Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing), Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Ineos Grenadiers) and Rebecca Henderson (Primaflor Mondraker), join on the front.
Still on the start loop before the first full lap, Batten gets an early gap, with Richards drawn out of the group in pursuit. Ferrand-Prévot has a little bobble on her new Pinarello and drops back slightly.
Evie Richards takes over the lead on lap 2. Batten falls back as Pieterse, Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing), Ferrand-Prévot and Martina Berta (Santa Cruz) formed a chase group behind.
Richards gap moves up to maximum 16 seconds during the third lap. On the start of the fourth lap, though, Ferrand-Prévot joined Pieterse to take up the chase.
One lap later, disaster strikes. Richards roll into the tech zone with a nearly flat tire. Ferrand-Prévot and Pieterse, and several others, roll by while Richards is standing and waiting for a slow tire change. An awkward moment with the chain as Richards remounts sees a few more ride by before the Brit gets underway.
Ferrand-Prévot and Pieterse start lap five with 10 seconds over Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV) and 15 seconds over Rebecca Henderson. Richards is almost 30 seconds back and now riding with Frei.
Ferrand-Prévot starts opening a gap to Pieterse on the sixth lap, building up to nine seconds at one point.
Starting the final lap, Pieterse had worked the gap back to six seconds. Lecomte is 19 seconds back, with Richards fighting back to fourth place, 37 in arrears.
Pieterse rejoins Ferrand-Prévot on a wildly technical rocky climb. Despite Lecomte lurking less than ten seconds behind, Pieterse is happy to follow Ferrand-Prévot’s wheel and leave the pressure on the world champ.
On the final lap, Pieterse makes a big attack and immediately gets a gap. Ferrand-Prévot is standing and grinding but unable to gain momentum to catch the Dutch racer’s wheel.
Pieterse holds her gap on the descent, coming into the finish line with time to celebrate. The Dutch racer’s first elite XCO World Cup delivers her first victory.
“Normally my start is really good, but we were going so fast. I thought I’d totally blown myself up,” Pieterse said after the race. “Pauline and I kept going in front of each other, and then Evie had a flat and we were all of a sudden racing for the front. I just tried to stay calm.”
Ferrand-Prévot holds off a hard-charging Lecomte to take second.
Richards is next to cross the line. With only 15 seconds between the Brit and a win, the Trek racer will surely be thinking of what could have been if her tire had held air. Alessandra Keller (Thomus Maxon) sprints for the final spot on the extended podium ahead of Anne Terpstra (Ghost Factory Racing).
