"I got the most out of it" - Puck Pieterse sees the positives in World Championship bronze
Cyclocross
Puck Pieterse's wait for a senior world title goes on. At the 2025 Cyclocross World Championships in Lievin, the 22-year-old Dutch star took her third worlds podium in a row, behind Fem van Empel and Lucinda Brand.
For much of the race, Pieterse was right in the mix with Brand and Van Empel, however couldn't match the relentlessly attacking pace from her two compatriots as the fight for the Rainbow Jersey ramped up. “Until one and a half laps before the end, I still thought I had a chance at the title if it would come to a standstill," rued Pieterse in her post-race interview afterwards. "I was able to keep up for a long time and really put my cards on the table. I didn't have the legs to follow, unfortunately. At one point I noticed that I lacked power on long stretches with thick mud. But I saw that they only really pulled away in the last two laps."
“Until then, you have to keep your faith. Until one and a half laps before the end, I still thought I had a chance of winning the title if it would come to a standstill,” Pieterse continues her recap. “But in the last lap, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. Then it’s all about riding for the podium. I tried to keep riding technically well, only in the final lap I really made a mistake, but then the focus is gone and they had already finished.”
Nevertheless, Pieterse sees plenty of reason to be happy with her performance. “I rode a great race. With the legs I had, I got the most out of it. You always go for the highest and then you go for gold, because everything is possible," she concludes. "To be on the cyclocross podium for the third time in a row and on a World Championship podium again, in such a short time, that is very special. I can be very proud of that.”
| 01 | van Empel Fem | - | 54:29 |
| 02 | Brand Lucinda | - | + 18 |
| 03 | Pieterse Puck | - | + 01:09 |
| 04 | van der Heijden Inge | - | + 01:31 |
| 05 | Vas Blanka | - | + 01:56 |
| 06 | Casasola Sara | - | + 02:11 |
| 07 | Alvarado Ceylin del Carmen | - | + 02:36 |
| 08 | Clauzel Hélène | - | + 02:51 |
| 09 | Cant Sanne | - | + 02:53 |
| 10 | Fouquenet Amandine | - | + 02:58 |
| 11 | Norbert Riberolle Marion | - | + 03:05 |
| 12 | Betsema Denise | - | + 03:08 |
| 13 | Clouse Katie | - | + 03:17 |
| 14 | van Alphen Aniek | - | + 03:32 |
| 15 | Bakker Manon | - | + 03:52 |
| 16 | McGill Sidney | - | + 04:23 |
| 17 | Brouwers Julie | - | + 04:33 |
| 18 | Brandau Elisabeth | - | + 04:54 |
| 19 | Morichon Anaïs | - | + 07:06 |
| 20 | Bialek Antonina | - | + 07:16 |
| 21 | Clauzel Perrine | - | + 07:31 |
| 22 | Vidon Amandine | - | + 08:00 |
| 23 | Lechner Eva | - | + 08:09 |
| 24 | Borello Carlotta | - | + 08:15 |
| 25 | Petitgirard Marlène | - | + 08:37 |
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Very humble of him to apologize to Tom and Ben.
KerisVroom09-03-2025 - Good luck Bradley. I'm glad you are in a better place. The 2012 tour was fantastic for us. We were there at Bonneval to watch you getting focused for the time trial. You sealed the overall of the tour on that stage. We set out on the long drive home to Scotland later tha day in a very happy mood. Great memories!Cyclingsbestfan09-03-2025
- He attacked Pogi after he saw him crashed and then Connor Swift stopped for quit sometime. He slow when he can't take some more time and Pogi blitztering his pace like a mad man to catch Swift then drop him after and that's the time he realized he will NOT beat Pogi in all races even he crashed.
James2631809-03-2025 - He already is the GOAT. Merckx rode decades ago when the sport was far less professional and the opposition weaker. You might as well say Djokovic is approaching Rod Laver or Messi is getting near to Stanley Matthews. If a sport advances and you are at the top, you are the GOAT.Renz09-03-2025
- Excellent point about when it’s too late to respond. I was watching the ‘23 Flanders race again, and the break, the bridge, and Mads Peterson all did the right thing. Not enough, but still, the attempt was the thing. I love watching Pogacar race, but I am really hoping for more of that kind of early hard attack in the coming months.RidesHills09-03-2025
- Pure class and nice for him to wait. After Tadej shared some liquids earlier. And besides Tadej took out that gap pretty instantly. No offense to Pidcock but he sat up at the top of a climb with the bridge over was obvious. And this is meant as no offense.mij09-03-2025
- What a ride! 💪
leedorney09-03-2025 - Pure classCrashjames08-03-2025
- If you have a hack to watch it on TV ;-)Mistermaumau08-03-2025
- Katalin Szőke, how many media do you think ever got that right? In Britain, you’re asking for trouble to register your kids’ name with an accent, in France, even something as simple as á is refused as their software doesn’t have it.Mistermaumau08-03-2025