"It took everything... I listened to my sports director for a change" - Puck Pieterse soars to first ever Classics win at La Fleche Wallonne Femmes 2025

Puck Pieterse has consistently been there or thereabouts in the Classics this Spring. At La Fleche Wallonne Femmes this Wednesday afternoon in the Ardennes, the Dutch prodigy finally managed to take a victory and in some style too, denying former Tour de France Femmes winner Demi Vollering on the Mur de Huy.

"It took everything, but I'm really happy to get a victory here," Pieterse reflected to the media in her post-race interview afterwards, having countered her compatriot's steady rising of the pace with a monster move as the finish line entered sight.

Throughout the day, although filled with cyclocross stars such as Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Sara Casasola alongside Pieterse herself of course, the Fenix-Deceuninck team consistently controlled the front of the peloton. As such, Pieterse is delighted to repay her teammates' hard work with just her second ever win on the road. 

"We were always in control with the team, especially when we came to the local lap," she recalls. "On the bike, I thought, 'Now I really, really have to finish it off, to give them something back'. I'm just super happy to get it. I think I did everything good this race. I attacked where everybody says you have to attack. I listened to my sports director for a change."