Annemiek van Vleuten’s inspiring message to Puck Pieterse revealed

Puck Pieterse knocked off some of the biggest names in the peloton on the Mur de Huy, taking down Demi Vollering, Elisa Longo Borghini and Kasia Niewiadoma in style. The result? Pure joy. “My teammates worked so hard out there. On the bike I just kept thinking, now I really have to finish this, really finish it, to give something back to them.”

Pieterse was all smiles in the flash interview, calling it a perfect climb. “I think I got everything right today. I launched exactly where I was supposed to. For once, I actually listened to the team car,” laughed the Fenix Deceuninck rider.

“Honestly, it’s not that hard. Everyone’s waiting for that final run up the Mur de Huy, so the biggest challenge is staying alert and not falling asleep before the key moments. I knew that going in. Luckily, my team kept me well-positioned all day.”

“Demi Vollering had a really strong lead-out from Juliette Labous, so I decided to slot in behind them. Halfway up I was still feeling good, but I knew I had to wait for the last 150 meters. That’s where I kicked and from then on, I never looked back.”

“I think it did. This morning someone asked if this race is the closest a road race comes to a mountain bike event, and I immediately thought of that brutally steep climb in Leogang. I told myself, just pretend you’re riding up that wall in Leogang and go all-out to the top.”

Annemiek van Vleuten spent a good part of her career figuring out how to finally beat Anna van der Breggen on the Flèche Wallonne, and now she’s your performance mentor at Fenix Deceuninck. What did she share with you in what seemed to be a pretty lengthy message?(laughs) 'It was a whole book. With a lot of analysis. She rode here many times, of course. She went here too early, got caught up just before the finish, misjudged turns.... so I got the tip to look back at the past races. I think I've looked back at Mur de Huy for the past 10 years, so I did my homework.'

What does Annemiek bring to the table for you?
“She’s experienced everything you can possibly go through in a cycling career. Wins, losses, crashes, comebacks, the whole deal. She’s someone you can always turn to. But more than that, it means a lot when someone like her believes in you. Same goes for the whole team. They all had faith in me.”

We just spoke to your DS Michel Cornelisse, and to quote him directly: “I was sweating buckets and totally speechless.” What’s your connection like with him?

“Michel is all heart when it comes to racing. He goes off feel and instinct. His main job with me is keeping things steady. If I’m spending too much time on the front, he’ll be in my ear from the car, no doubt.”

(laughs and glances over) “But now it’s his turn to suffer. He promised to ride up the Mur de Huy if I won. I can see him over there getting ready. Let’s see if he actually makes it to the top.”

When was that bet actually made?
“I mentioned at the dinner table that I’d heard Michel was going to ride up the Mur de Huy if I won. And he just said, ‘Alright, deal.’ We already had a few little bets going. He was happy he didn’t have to walk back to the hotel the last couple of times, but I think this time there’s no way out.” (Cornelisse is set to ride the climb on Thursday and gave Pieterse the green light to film it.)