Puck Pieterse admits Fem van Empel's crash helped her win - "I was a bit lucky. Otherwise, it would have been a big fight for the win"
Cyclocross
Puck Pieterse continues her streak of victories with the World Cup in Hulst. She beat Fem van Empel by a margin of 40 seconds to get her fourth win of the season.
"It was so tough with all the climbs, and I felt Fem was stronger on that part," Pieterse said in the post-race interview. Fem van Empel quickly took the lead for herself, but the crash cost her crucial time and she lost the lead. "I started very fast and had a gap right away. Fem rode it close after that. She took over the lead and fell.I think her derailleur went into the crash mode, and her bike was broken,” explained Pieterse.
She used van Empel’s crash to her advantage and created a 30 seconds gap. She held the lead till the end and added another victory to her achievement list. “I got a free lead that way, from there, I had to keep applying a lot of pressure. So I was a bit lucky. Otherwise, it would have been a big fight for the win. But I'm definitely very happy with this," Pieterse concluded.
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- great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- He should be in a different team. It was detrimental. For them it does not matter if he does not develop. He should have gone to a team where they need him to succeed.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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🥇 Puck Pieterse does it again 🥇 Another incredible show of skill in tough slippery conditions 👌. She now also moves up to 2nd place overall in the #CXWorldCup.
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