"It was a dream season" - Before cyclocross season, Puck Pieterse confirms XCO World Cup victory

Puck Pieterse became one of the strongest and most popular riders in cyclocross but this year she revealed how far she can go in Mountain Biking. Perhaps an even better rider in the bigger tyres, the 21-year old confirmed the World Cup win after her ride in Snowshoe this Sunday.

"I went down there so slowly in four of the six laps. I also had to keep clicking out and kept falling behind," Pieterse said regarding the route's descent which caused her a lot of problems. "I felt strong uphill, but I started to feel it after four laps." However, the fifth place at the line was enough to complete one of the season's goals, that of winning the World Cup - even though there is still racing remaining.

“It's really crazy. I was also thinking about the rankings the whole time, so I'm glad it worked out. It was a dream season," she said. Wins in Nové Mesto, Leogang, European Championships and Val di Sole in XCO saw an extraordinary leap in results, and she has now also been awarded for her consistency. All this in time to have some time off, before beginning to focus on the cyclocross season.