Sunday, September 1, 2024 at 11:55 AM
Puck Pieterse is the new world champion on the mountain bike. The 22-year-old Dutch woman proved to be by far the strongest in the Cross Country in Pal Arinsal, Andorra, and soloed to her first rainbow jersey among the pros. “I still can’t believe it,” she said in the flash interview afterwards.
A great day for Dutch mountain biking and Puck Pieterse. The all-rounder from Fenix-Deceuninck became the first Dutch woman to win the Cross Country world title on Sunday. Pieterse was in a class of her own on the difficult climbing course in Andorra and won by a large margin.
“I rode at my own pace from the start,” Pieterse began her story, searching for words. “I had to all in to win here. That was apparently enough. It’s my first world title among the elite riders. I’m so happy!”
Revenge
Pieterse also took sporting revenge for the Olympic Games. In Paris she seemed on her way to a silver MTB medal, behind Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, but a flat tire threw a spanner in the works. “This is definitely sporting revenge”, Pieterse confirmed in the flash interview.
“But also for my Shorttrack race last Friday. I wasn’t happy after that race. I made some mistakes at the start and couldn’t compete for the win. But that made me extra alert today. I had the right focus again today.”
1-2 for the Netherlands
And this resulted in a first world title for elite riders. Pieterse was flanked on the podium by a compatriot: Anne Terpstra won silver. “That is really crazy. We are not a big mountain bike country,” says Pieterse. “I live at sea level and to perform here – at altitude in Andorra – with Anne. That makes it extra special. Anne always performs well in Andorra and today she showed again how strong she is.”
🚵🇦🇩 | No Puck, this is not a dream. This is all real. You are world champion. That rainbow jersey, it is yours! 😍😍#PalArinsalAndorra2024
📺 Stream MTB op HBO Max pic.twitter.com/htQNJCT7GO
— Eurosport Netherlands (@Eurosport_NL) September 1, 2024
