Puck Pieterse solos to victory at X2O Trofee Herentals

Dutch cyclist Puck Pieterse celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win the Women Elite race of the Superprestige Diegem 6th stage of the Superprestige cyclocross competition in Diegem on December 28 2022 Belgium OUT Photo by JASPER JACOBS BELGA AFP Belgium OUT Photo by JASPER JACOBSBELGAAFP via Getty Images
Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) (Image credit: Getty Images)

Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) took her second win in a week as she soloed to victory at the fourth round of the X2O Trofee in Herentals.

The 20-year-old crossed the line 27 seconds clear of Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) after riding away at the front of the race on the opening lap. Annemarie Worst (777) rounded out the podium at 1:13.

Pieterse was the major favourite for victory at the second major cyclocross gathering of the new year with Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma), the dominant rider of the season so far, skipping the race after her win at Sunday's GP Sven Nys.

There were still plenty of other top riders present in Herentals, though, but Pieterse wasn't fazed and hit the front from the very start of the action with teammate Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado close behind.

Pieterse scarcely put a foot wrong during the race, and by the halfway mark a lap later she was long gone – 41 seconds up the road from her nearest rival. Behind her, Sanne Cant (Crelan-Fristads) joined the fray as four riders fought over the remaining podium spots.

Betsema's woes saw her end the day in 10th place, 4:23 down on Pieterse, losing her place at the top of the X2O Trofee standings in the process. Brand now takes the lead with a combined time of 3:22:37, while Betsema is in second at 26 seconds down. Alvarado is third at 29 seconds, the only other rider within a minute of Brand.

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Dani Ostanek
Senior News Writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include Strade Bianche, the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, and Tro-Bro Léon.

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