Puck Pieterse: "As long as I can finish on the podium, I'm satisfied"

Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Puck Pieterse had to satisfy herself with silver in the CX Antwerpen World Cup. The Dutchwoman could not challenge her rival Fem van Empel as she rode away from the group.

"This is also a round for her. As long as I can finish on the podium, I'm satisfied," Pieterse told WielerFlits. She praises van Empel for her performance today. "Fem was a bit stronger today. I decided to start fast because I wanted to be first through the sand. That would give free seconds. After that, I tried to pull through, but I got well tired."

Sand strip turned out to be a big challenge for her which helped van Empel create a gap. "It was going well, but at one point, I left a gap. I left too big a gap just before the sand strip, so I lost some seconds, and then Fem had flown," concluded Pieterse.