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Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) powered to a weekend double with victory at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Hoogerheide on Sunday, exploding away from the field on the final lap to win by six seconds.
It was a close-fought battle by several of the best in women's cyclo-cross racing across all seven laps of racing in the Netherlands, but Pieterse's repeated bursts paid off, and she emerged victorious as she did in Maasmechelen yesterday.
With her third victory of the season, Pieterse continues to highlight her growing form ahead of the World Championships in Hulst, and will now likely head into the race for the rainbow jersey as the favourite with this perfectly-timed peak.
Kristyna Zemanová finished in second place, a career-best World Cup performance for her, with Amandine Fouquenet (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw) impressing once again to round out the podium of the day.
"I didn't have that one yet, so cool to do it now," said Pieterse, after claiming the ninth World Cup of her career at home. "I had the feeling I was quicker on the corners after the pink bridge, so I wanted to be in front there and go for it, because I didn't want to sprint against Amandine or Zemanová."
With no Lucinda Brand (Baloise Verzekeringen- Het Poetsbureau Lions) on the start line due to calf injury – which is bad news ahead of Worlds – Pieterse took the start as the day's favourite.
On the final round of the World Cup, though, Brand had more than enough points built up from winning eight of the 12 rounds, so she was still confirmed as the overall winner for the fourth time in her career.
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More dry weather meant a rapid start on the Hoogerheide course, with Pieterse, Fouquenet and European champion Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) making the best starts.
From here, right until lap seven, the lead was swapped by others, including Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise Verzekeringen- Het Poetsbureau Lions) and Sara Casasola (Crelan-Corendon), but Pieterse was a constant in the first five positions, with clear advantages over some of the quickest parts of the course.
Casasola appeared to be the closest challenger to the Dutch rider, alongside Fouquenet, even forming a trio at times on the start of lap five; however, the Italian champion's run ran out of steam by the end of the lap as she slipped out and crashed just before the start of the sixth and penultimate lap.
Pieterse, noticing the opportunity with one close rival down, put the hammer down again, though Zemanová and Fouquenet were able to follow and even swapped the lead with the Dutch rider, but the Fenix-Premier Tech rider had eyed up just where she would make her bid for the win.
A small mistake from Pieterse allowed the French rider to lead the opening portion of the final, but the orange jersey was soon back in the lead with a huge surge of power. The gap was big as Zemanová moved into second to try to reel her back in.
Pieterse had enough skill under pressure and gas in the tank to stay away, though, pushing the limits of the course as she worked to ensure no sprint was necessary for the victory, setting the fastest lap on the last lap. As she got up the final rise to the line, she had time to celebrate with her arms spread wide.
Puck Pieterse racing at Hoogerheide World Cup 2026 (Image credit: Getty Images)
James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.
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