With her cyclocross season over sooner than originally planned, there is not reason for Puck Pieterse to not extend her road season a bit more and kick off the her short spring campaign next Saturday with Belgian classic Omloop Het Nieuwsblad WE.
Pieterse's name already appeared on the provisional start list of the opener of the Belgian cycling year and has now also confirmed the news on social media. "I will start my short road season next week in the Omloop," said the Amersfoort rider, who finished fifth on her Strade Bianche Donne debut last year.
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A short road season, but more extensive than last year. That was also the plan of team boss Philip Roodhooft. "She will definitely ride Strade Bianche again," he confirmed to WielerFlits at the end of December already. "We also want to expand her program a bit, but we don't want to commit too much in advance. We want to wait and see how she comes out of the winter."
"Her road program should not disrupt her preparation for the Olympic Games. And we also have to do everything right in the longer term. Anyway, we hope she will compete in more races than last season. We expect that too. We saw in Strade Bianche last year that it makes sense to continue working on this. And very importantly, she really enjoys doing it," said Roodhooft.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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