Puck Pieterse concluded her spring Classics campaign with another superb ride and second place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes, meaning she finished in the top ten in all nine one-day spring Classics and every race she's done this season.
The 22-year-old Fenix-Deceuninck rider was fourth at Omloop Nieuwsblad in late February and continued to show her immense talents with top ten results week after week, all after an 11-race cyclocross season that saw her never finish lower than fifth.
Pieterse is also the Under-23 road race world champion and Mountain Bike Cross-Country (XCO) World and European Champion.
She finished a happy third at the Amstel Gold Race, but her mid-week victory at La Flèche Wallonne left her disappointed with second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège after being beaten in the four-rider sprint by Kimberley Le Court.
"I can live with it. But in one week it went from 'Yes, I'm third in the Amstel' to 'Shit, I'm second in Liège'," Pieterse admitted to Wielerflits.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of. I gave it my all. Every sprint is different, but I knew that Kim Le Court was probably the fastest, so I got on her wheel. I just couldn't get out of it…"
Pieterse's only regret was allowing Le Court to close the gap to the attackers on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons, with 15km to race. Le Court made a huge effort to jump across and then waited to use her powerful sprint finish.
"Maybe if we had kept up the pace a bit more there, then the two or three of us would have been away. But Kim made the crossing very cleverly, that has to be said," said the Dutch rider.
Pieterse made two attacks on the fast run-in to Liège but was chased down. She tried to come off Le Court's wheel with a strong sprint but could only come up alongside Le Court as she celebrated her historic win.
In 2024, Pieterse enjoyed a similarly strong Classics campaign at her first attempt, but lacked a victory and didn't ride the Ardennes Classics. This year, she is stronger and more confident, with a greater focus on the road.
Like Mathieu van der Poel, Pieterse knows how to balance road racing, cyclocross and mountain biking. She is expected to ride the Nove Mesto World Cup in late May and then prepare for the Tour de France Femmes in late July before defending her mountain bike world title in Crans Montana, Switzerland, in mid-September.
She beat Demi Vollering to win stage 4 of the Tour de France Femmes in Liège last year to take her first pro victory on the road. She then finished 11th overall and defended the best young rider white jersey all the way to the Alpe d'Huez finish as teammate Pauliena Rooijakkers rode to second overall.
"I got through the spring very well, and I notice that my form is only getting better," Pieterse said ominously.
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