Gutsy ride and broken chains: Puck Pieterse's roller coaster race at Namur

Puck Pieterse still awaits her first victory of this cross season, even after the Namur World Cup. The Dutch champion had to acknowledge the superiority of her compatriot Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado in the tough climbing cross, but managed to secure a second place with a gutsy ride.

Pieterse resolutely went for the win before the start and in the opening minutes there seemed to be little going on. "I had a pretty good start, but after two climbs my chain broke. After that I could no longer shift to my largest cog. I had to push a lot of riders aside and overtake them after my bike change," Pieterse could still laugh afterwards.

The Fenix-Deceuninck rider did not have a flawless opening lap and unfortunately it did not stop there. "In the second lap I joined Lucinda and so there were two of us in the pursuit of Ceylin. After that I only had a problem with my BOA, my cleat was loose. So I had to stop for a while and lost a few seconds again."

This turned out to be an important moment in the cross, also because leader Alvarado managed to step up her game. "I had a bad moment in cross-country, but I managed to find myself again." This ultimately resulted in a second place, as Pieterse managed to deal with Brand after an exciting final phase. "My fighting spirit was certainly present today," is her conclusion.