"I had to go all in today to win here. That was apparently enough" - Puck Pieterse proud of her first elite rainbow jersey

Puck Pieterse is the new world champion on the mountain bike. The 22-year-old Dutch woman proved to be by far the strongest in the Olympic Cross country event in Pal Arinsal, Andorra, and soloed to her first rainbow jersey among the pros.

The all-rounder from Fenix-Deceuninck became the first Dutch woman to win the elite XCO world title on Sunday. Pieterse was in a class of her own on the difficult climbing course in Andorra and won by a large margin.

Read also

Unleashed Puck Pieterse becomes Netherlands' first female XCO World champion while Pauline Ferrand-Prévot falls through in her last MTB race

"I rode my own pace from the start," Pieterse began her story, searching for words. "I had to go all in today to win here. That was apparently enough. It is my first world title among the elite riders. I am so happy!"

Pieterse also took sporting revenge for the Olympic Games. In Paris she seemed on her way to a silver MTB medal, behind Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, but a flat tire threw a spanner in the works. "This is definitely sporting revenge," Pieterse confirmed in the flash interview. "But also for my Shorttrack race last Friday. I wasn’t happy after that race. I made some mistakes at the start and couldn’t compete for the win. But that made me extra alert today. I had the right focus again today."

In addition, Pieterse was joined on the podium by a compatriot: Anne Terpstra won silver. "That is really crazy. We are not a big mountain bike country," reminds Pieterse. "I live at sea level and to perform here – at altitude in Andorra – with Anne. That makes it extra special. Anne always performs well in Andorra and today she showed again how strong she is."

Read also

"Starting there and knowing in advance that I would lose, I don’t feel like doing that" - Wout van Aert to skip World and European time trials

Tom Pidcock misses out on MTB World Championships as South African Alan Hatherly surprises