Pieterse dominates fast circuit to claim flawless Superprestige Diegem victory

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Alvarado races to second place and takes the series lead

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Dutch Puck Pieterse celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win the women elite race of Cross Diegem cyclocross cycling event, Thursday 28 December 2023 in Diegem, stage 7/8 in the Superprestige cyclocross cycling competition. BELGA PHOTO JASPER JACOBS (Photo by JASPER JACOBS / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP)
Puck Pieterse celebrates solo win at Superprestige Diegem 2023(Image credit: Getty Images)

Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) road a flawless race to claim the victory at the penultimate round of the Superprestige series in Diegem.

"It went really well, and so I'm happy about that," Pieterse said at the finish line.

Pieterse pulled away from her rivals on the opening lap and built a lead out to more than 26 seconds to take a solo win ahead of Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who moved into the series' overall lead ahead of the final round in  Noordzeecross.

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Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) finished in third place more than 34 seconds back.

How it unfolded

The penultimate round of the Superprestige series in Diegem was held under the evening floodlights in front of massive crowds who came out to watch the nighttime race.

Zoe Backstedt (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) was the fastest off the start line and led the field into the uphill first section of the course and onto the grass.

She was quickly passed in the first off-camber banking by Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck).

Van der Heijden and Pieterse gained a small gap as Backstedt lost ground and joined a chase group with series leader Annemarie Worst (Cyclocross Reds), series runner-up Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Blanka Vas (SD Worx), Sanne Cant Crelan-Corendon), and Marie Schreiber (SD Worx).

Pieterse carried speed and flawless technique across the opening lap of racing, hopping the barriers, fastest up the steps, and quickly shedding Van der Heijden from her wheel.

Pieterse extended her lead out to 17 seconds over Van der Heijden by the start of the third lap of racing. 

Alvarado soon connected with Van der Heijden in the hunt for series points and for solo leader Pieterse. Further back, Backstedt led a group of four that also included Vas, Cant and Schreiber.

Pieterse entered the fourth of six laps with a 21-second lead over Alvarado, who had already distanced Van der Heijden by an additional six seconds.

There was no stopping Pieterse from defending her title to win a second consecutive Superprestige in Diegem, crossing the finish line with more than 26 seconds to spare over runner-up and new series leader Alvarado.

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Kirsten Frattini
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