“In the beginning I enjoyed the mud, but after two laps I didn’t really enjoy it anymore" - Puck Pieterse takes 2nd from Dendermonde swamp

The World Cup Dendermonde course was an incredibly gruelling one this Sunday afternoon due to the wet, gloopy mud that swamped the course. One of those who tackled the tough conditions the best, was Puck Pieterse, who finished 2nd to Lucinda Brand.

Early on though, it looked for a long time like Pieterse could actually fight for victory before fading slightly towards the finale. “In the beginning I enjoyed the mud, but after two laps I didn’t really enjoy it anymore,” rhe Dutch prodigy reflects in her post-race interview. “I had a flat tire halfway through the race. Then Lucinda took a gap.”

“There were a few holes in the course, so I didn’t ride over them. But then I still got a flat tire,” she adds, noting how one such instance plagued her on the final lap. “In the last lap I thought I had a flat tire, but then I was already riding towards the asphalt. So it was sprinting from the saddle. But Fem van Empel also had a flat tire, so it was an equal battle in that respect.”

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"I don't know why people come to the cross in such weather" - Lucinda Brand continues recent hotstreak in Dendermonde but casts doubt on Dutch National Championships

Lucinda Brand doubles up this weekend with muddy World Cup Dendermonde victory ahead of Pieterse & Van Empel

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