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.
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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.
In contrast, series leader Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), still seeking her first win since October, endured a nightmare start with a puncture right at the start and a long, slow ride to the pits before she could properly get going at full speed.
Up front, the end of the first lap saw Pieterse cross the line with a solid gap already, the Dutchwoman out front by 10 seconds from Alvarado as Brand and Worst trailed a few seconds further back.
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.
But it was another former world champion who grasped the mantle on the final lap, the Trek rider leaving Alvarado, Worst, and Cant behind to race clear into a solo second place.
The battle for the third spot on the podium was closer, however, with worst prevailing over Alvarado by just a handful of seconds as Cant dropped back to finish two minutes down.
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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