Puck Pieterse about her friendship with Fem van Empel: "We can also have a nice chat with each other, not too much about the cross itself"
Cyclocross
In the race they battle each other with everything they have, but afterwards the belt can easily come off for Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse. After the Urban Cross in Kortrijk, where Van Empel showed herself to be the best for the eighth time this season, the two went out cycling together for half an hour.
"If the weather is not too bad, it is nice to do a debriefing of the race together. But we can also have a nice chat with each other, not too much about the cross itself," Pieterse says in front of the WielerFlits camera shortly after her ride with the world champion.
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The Dutch champion apparently does not find it difficult to switch from competitors to friends. "Of course you don't give presents during the competition. But Fem won fairly, so I'm not pissed off about that. You can be angry with yourself, but it would be crazy if I was angry with her."
Pieterse, who finished third herself, saw a great battle. "It was a fast circuit and a nice cross. It stayed together for a long time, which was nice for the viewers on television. We switched a bit at the lead, for a moment Lucinda had a gap, then Fem. But two laps from the end my chain was off. Then it was over for me, but I was still able to finish the cross well."
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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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- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
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