"The best part is, Puck races with her heart", Fenix-Deceuninck team director Cornelisse praises Pieterse

Puck Pieterse resumes her Flemish spring campaign this Sunday at Gent-Wevelgem. The Dutchwoman from Fenix-Deceuninck has stood on the podium at the prominent WorldTour races Ronde van Drenthe and Trofeo Alfredo Binda in the past two weeks, making team director Michel Cornelisse look forward to Pieterse's participation in the upcoming races with considerable confidence.

We spoke to Cornelisse after the finish of the Classic Brugge-De Panne, where his women tried to avoid a sprint. "We were one of the most active teams trying to make it a race, but we did miss a bit of support. From the weather, of course (laughs), but also from the other teams. With Charlotte Kool and Elisa Balsamo (dsm-firmenich PostNL and Lidl-Trek, respectively) you have two strong sprinters here, but there are still fourteen teams that have nothing to lose."

The sports director was pleased with the grit his women showed. "There were some nice moments, but then you see other teams closing the gap again. I think: let Kool's ladies do that, then they also have fewer riders in the final. But well, that's not up to me, the tactics of the other teams. All in all, we raced very attractively, but in the final, it got a bit messy. In the end, we tried to win, but we also managed to make it a good training session for the important races to come."

Pieterse joins as an additional weapon for Fenix-Deceuninck from Gent-Wevelgem onwards

So, on Sunday, he can count again on his lead rider Pieterse, with whom he plans to continue in the same vein as in De Panne: going full throttle. "Puck is a jack-of-all-trades, but the best part is: she races with her heart. We aim to race in a very attractive manner and make women's cycling more attacking because that's also much more enjoyable to watch, right? Puck is, of course, someone... she's unstoppable."

Cornelisse explains that her energy also inspires the other ladies. "We have a really fun team of friends, but now we need to ensure that this group of friends is more willing to go through fire and water for each other. They're all very sweet girls, but sometimes, a bit too sweet. What I mean is they might respect their competitors a bit too much. As Yara Kastelijn put it during the Tour: we're not here to make friends. That's something I try to instill. We're doing great and have no reason to be intimidated."

"The presence of Puck can be a game-changer," says the Amsterdam native, drawing a comparison to Mathieu van der Poel's early years on the road. "I was also with Corendon-Circus in the first year when, in the shadow of Mathieu, many riders began performing very well without even realizing how good they were. That's the advantage of having a Puck Pieterse."

Cornelisse enjoys Pieterse's drive: "That's what Mathieu had at the beginning"

You can see it in Cornelisse's smile: he loves his job. "It's fantastic to work as a team director with Puck. Sometimes she almost gives you a heart attack (laughs), like last week at the Trofeo Binda. We had a whole plan laid out, but then she attacked half a lap too early. Of course, Mathieu was the same in the beginning; those cyclo-cross riders can't wait, of course. Puck is used to the starting gun sounding and then going. Now she has to wait three hours, which is definitely an adjustment."

It's Cornelisse and co's task to keep Pieterse reined in, but he certainly doesn't see it that way. "I just let her do her thing. You shouldn't want to change Puck Pieterse; Puck just needs to be Puck. And then it will all come naturally. Like in Binda, she was frustrated, but she eventually saw the reason. Everything is still very new, and making a mistake is certainly not a big deal.

Pieterse is set to ride in Gent-Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen, and the Tour of Flanders. She's not expected to participate in Paris-Roubaix and the Amstel Gold Race. "The Olympics are, of course, very important. At some point, you can keep adjusting, but the Olympics are the most important thing. We're aware of that."