"I’m proud of my fight this week and how I’ve raced" - Puck Pieterse falls away from podium contention on final stage but wins White Jersey at Tour de France Femmes
Cycling
In the first stage race of her career, Puck Pieterse was one of the revelations of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, winning a stage and up until the final day, being right in the mix for the Maillot Jaune.
On a massive day in the mountains last Sunday however, Pieterse showed signs of frailty for the first time, being distanced on the Col du Glandon and despite limiting losses on the subsequent descent and ascent of Alpe d'Huez, the 22-year-old dropped from 2nd overall at the start of the day to 11th in the final general classification.
“It's really cool. Today was one of my hardest days on the bike that I have ever had. It was a five hour long stage with two really, really big climbs in there. I really found my limits today I think," assesses the Fenix-Deceuninck cross discipline star in her post-stage interview, having nevertheless held on to win the White Jersey of Best Young Rider at her debut Grand Tour.
"I’m proud of my fight this week and how I’ve raced. I think I’ve done a lot of things right," Pieterse concludes her assessment. "To see Pauliena Rooijakkers finish it off on the podium, riding awesome all week and especially today, it’s just so good for the team.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Half dead after yesterday’s stage but practicing her one handed wheelies after it anyway during her cooldown to use today, go go go Puck! 😍 💪🏻 #PuckPieterse #TDFF2024 #WatchTheFemmes
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