Pieterse stays positive, despite physical setbacks before the World Championships: "In that sense, it's well-timed"

In the Hoogerheide World Cup, serving as the final round of the regularity classification, there was widespread hope (and expectation) for an exciting battle between Fem van Empel, Lucinda Brand, and Puck Pieterse. While the race did turn out to be thrilling, the latter wasn't part of that excitement. The 21-year-old rider from Fenix-Deceuninck finished eighth in West North Brabant. After the race, she shared her reasons with IDLProCycling.com and others.

"I got sick during the training camp on Wednesday," Pieterse explained next to her camper, shedding light on her lackluster performance in Hoogerheide. Initially part of the leading group, she gradually fell behind. "I was quite ill on Wednesday and Thursday. By Saturday, I felt somewhat better. That's why I decided to see how I would feel in Hoogerheide. During the course recon, I felt quite good. I could eat again, so I decided to give it a try. It would also give me some intensity, especially since I was starting to get over the illness. In that way, I couldn't really do much harm."

The days leading up to the World Championships will revolve around recovery and rest for Pieterse

And so it happened: Pieterse participated in the race that for almost everyone serves as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming World Championships in cyclo-cross on Saturday. "The start was okay, but I struggled on the first climb. There's no place to hide there. On the rest of the course, being in the wheel helps a bit. Eventually, you start to fade. That's why I decided not to push it and just ride my own race," she elaborated on her strategy in the GP Adrie van der Poel. "Unfortunately, I didn't have any acceleration left."

Pieterse naturally hopes that by Saturday, February 3, she will be fully recovered. "If it's completely out of my system by then, it's well-timed in that sense. It's not like I'm completely out of form or anything. Everyone has been training for the championships. Next week, there will be extra focus on recovery. I might get over it and have a great day in Tábor. We'll see. Anything can happen at a championship race. Tábor is a really cool course. It's fast, technical, and involves some climbing." Good luck, Puck!