Puck Pieterse scores biggest career road win at La Flèche Wallonne

She might have won a stage of the Tour de France and won the young rider’s jersey, but Puck Pietere scored her greatest road victory on Wednesday’s midpoint of Ardennes Week, La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, the Walloon Arrow. Pieterse attacked on the Mur de Huy and held off Demi Vollering and Elisa Longo Borghini for the famous triumph. Magdeleine Vallieres was top Canadian in 14th.

Last Season

In wretched conditions future Tour de France victor Katarzyna Niewiadoma was the strongest on the Mur de Huy, outclimbing Longo Borghini and Vollering to earn her first win since June 2019. Olivia Baril was the top Canadian in 12th.

The Course

The women’s edition held eight climbs in 140.7 km. The women would tackle two 36-km finishing circuits contained the Côte d’Ereffe, the Côte de Cherave and the showdown setting of Mur de Huy, 1.3 km of 9.7 percent, with ramps up to 26 percent. It was a another wet edition.

In the Canadian contingent, Simone Boilard joined Alison Jackson and Vallieres, Adele Normand, and Winspace Orange Seal trio Jenaya Francis, Kiara Lylyk and Nadia Gontova.

Before the finishing circuits, a few breakaways had tried and failed. Cedrine Kerbaol, EF Education-Oatly’s French demon descender, bridged over to an attacker before the Côte de Cherave I and then lit out solo. When she heard the bell at the top of the Mur de Huy, the pink-clad rider’s lead was 20 seconds.

Final Circuit

Kerbaol started the last Côte d’Ereffe with a 35-second buffer. Her lead shrank and expanded before Côte de Cherave where she was scooped in by the whittled-down peloton.

It was time for the Mur de Huy showdown. Vollering followed teammate Juliette Labous onto the famous climb. Lotte Kopecky struggled to hang on. Niewiadoma tagged onto Vollering while Vallieres became the last Canadian to fall away. Then Puck Pieterse attacked, powering to a two second win.

Vollering was runner-up and Longo Borghini rounded out the podium, the Italian staving off the efforts of Niewiadoma.

Ardennes Week concludes on Sunday with the fourth Monument of the year, Liège-Bastogne-Liège. You can watch it at FloBikes.

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2025 La Flèche Wallonne Féminine
1) Puck Pieterse (The Netherlands/Fenix-Deceuninck) 3:53:25
2) Demi Vollering (The Netherlands/FDJ-Suez) +0:02
3) Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy/UAE-ADQ) +0:06
14) Magdeleine Vallieres (Canada/EF Education-Oatly) +0:26
37) Nadia Gontova (Canada/Winspace Orange Seal) +2:01
60) Jenaya Francis (Canada/Winspace Orange Seal) +5:24