Puck Pieterse is the New U23 Road World Champion
Puck Pieterse closed her already spectacular 2024 road season by conquering the UCI World Championships U23 title, adding another rainbow jersey to her incredible palmares. She finished 13th the 154.1 km-long Elite road race, her first with the National Dutch team.
“Road is nice. I like races like today that are always full gas. I like to see how far I can go,” Puck said. Her victory in Zurich came amid intense weather conditions. “It was really cold, especially every time we went into the longer descents. I was shivering and shaking by the last two laps. You don’t want to go any faster because your legs are gone. But you also want to ride faster because it is so cold that you want to warm up. But there was no warming up with this rain.”
This new U23 title comes a month after 22-year-old rider won the UCI MTB World Championships cross country race. It is also a highlight of her road season, which was marked by a stage win and the youth leader jersey at the Tour de France and two podiums in the Spring Classics.
Bronze medal for Julie de Wilde in the U23 Individual Time Trial at the World Championships
“A bronze medal feels so good after a year with more downs then ups!”, wrote Julie de Wilde on an Instagram post after taking the third place in Individual Time Trial at the World Championships in the U23 category.
The Belgian rider completed the 29.9 km-long Swiss course from Gossau to Zürich in 42 minutes and 37 seconds.
“I want to thank my team, the national team, and everybody who’s close to me for keeping the confidence. This performance gives me some extra motivation for this week to go all-in another time!”, said de Wilde.
She will be competing again on Saturday September 28, when she will represent Belgium in the World Championships Road Race.
First-ever Podium for Marion Norbert-Riberolle and Belgium in the European Championships Mixed Relay
Belgium won its first-ever medal in the team time trial mixed relay at the 2024 European Championships with a third-place finish. And FENIX-Deceuninck rider Marion Norbert-Riberolle is one of the six riders who made it possible.
The mixed relay is one the lesser-known road events. It was introduced for the first time in 2019 for both World and European Championships. Each competing country has a team of six riders, three men and three women which will take turns to do a part of the course. The time recorded is the sum of the one done by the men and the women riders.
The Belgian men’s trio was composed by Edward Theuns, Noah Vandenbranden, and Victor Vercouillie, while the women’s were Alana Castrique, Jesse Vandenbulcke and Norbert-Riberolle. They finished third behind Italy and Germany, which won the gold and the silver, medals.
Christina Schweinberger Takes bronze at European Time Trial Championships
Austrian Christina Schweinberger won the bronze medal in the individual time trial at the 2024 European Championships in Hasselt, Belgium. The FENIX-Deceuninck rider completed the 31.2 km course in 40 minutes and 2 seconds.
“It feels good. This year wasn’t going so smooth, so I’m really happy with the podium finish. I was a bit nervous before starting but it was also a good motivation. Lotte (Kopecky) was unbeatable, I knew that before, but I gave my best and I’m happy to have gotten the medal,” said Schweinberger in a post-race interview.
“I think I started a bit fast. I invested more at the beginning, maybe too much, so I lost a bit in the end. In the last kilometer, it was full on head wind, and it felt never-ending. But compared with other ITTs of that length like Glassgow last year, it passed much faster. It a was a good course and I’m happy.”
The European Championships ITT was won by Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) while Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) took the silver.
Schweinberger is now looking forward to the Road World Championships, which will take place in Zurich, Switzerland from September 21st until 29th. The Austrian rider is expected to compete in both the ITT and the road races.
Puck Pieterse is the 2024 MTB World Champion!
Puck Pieterse made history on Sunday as she won her first elite MTB World Championships, becoming the first Dutch woman to ever win the rainbow jersey in a XCO event.
“I cannot comprehend it yet! I wrote at my own pace from the start, and I thought ‘I need to go all in if I want to win this’. I kept pushing and apparently it was enough. My first elite world title, and I’m just so happy,” said Puck in a post race interview.
The 22-year-old rider dominated from the start the Olympic Cross-country race, crossing the finish line with a lead of 59-second ahead of her Dutch teammate Anne Terpstra and Italian Martina Berta. The 4-km course in Pal Arinsal, Andorra, required five laps that she completed in one hour, nine minutes and forty-one seconds.
Puck adds this victory to an already impressive season, in which she won the European mountain bike title and three World Cup races. It also follows the disappointment at the Paris Olympic games where she missed the podium after a puncture two laps before the finish.
Puck Pieterse wins stage four of Tour de France Femmes
What a great day for Puck Pieterse! On the same day, the FENIX-Deceuninck Dutch rider won stage 4 of Tour the France Femmes, earned the polka-dots jersey as the best climber and the white jersey as the leader of the youth classification. Moreover, it’s her first-ever victory on a World Tour road race.
The stage four of Tour de France Femmes was a very intense, 122,7 km-long race. The course went through two countries: from Valkenburg, in the Netherlands, to the city of Liège, in Belgium. Puck Pieterse won the stage in a final harsh sprint ahead of yellow jersey Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM).
“It’s unbelievable, actually. The last few days I had super-good legs, and today I didn’t feel my legs at all. To take the win here in a sprint against Demi, that’s really a dream come true,” said Pieterse.
Puck Pieterse secures silver medal in Dutch National Cyclocross Championship
Puck Pieterse finished second the Dutch National Cyclocross Championship in the muddy course of Hoogeveen. From the start, the FENIX-Deceuninck rider and defending champion battled Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions), who ultimately won the national title by extending its lead to 45 seconds after Pieterse slipped in the fourth and last lap.
“It wasn’t my best race,” said the 21-year-old cyclist to specialized media WielerFlits. “I had a good start and rode where I wanted to, but Lucinda was a bit faster today. You could see that she had a bit more power, especially on the straights. You always have to have confidence, but I don’t think I came into the race in my best shape.”
Anemarie Worts (Cyclocross Reds) swooped in to take the bronze medal, surprising Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who crossed the finish line in fourth position. FENIX-Deceuninck rider Yara Kastelijn finished 8th.
Sanne Cant wins 15th Belgian National Cyclocross Championship
Sanne Cant set an unprecedent record on Saturday when she claimed the Belgian National Cyclocross Championship title for the 15th consecutive year. In a muddy and battled race, the Crelan-Corendon rider outsmarted Laura Verdonschot (De Ceuster – Bonache) in a final sprint in Meulebeke.
Her teammate Marion Norbert Riberolle completed the podium while FENIX-Deceuninck’s Marthe Truyen and Julie De Wilde crossed the finish line in 10th and 15th positions, respectively.
In an interview with Belgian media Sporza, Cant hinted that she is considering retiring after next year’s season. “I’m probably at the start of my last Belgian Championship. So, I’m really going to enjoy it. I will certainly take the time to think back on all the wonderful things, but I would like to win that 15th. That’s the intention, otherwise I wouldn’t have started today. I’m going to do everything I can.”
The Belgian National Cyclocross Championship Elite women category was introduced in 2001 and has been held yearly since. Cant, who rides with FENIX-Deceuninck during the road season, has won 15 of the 24 editions.
FENIX to sponsor CX rider Ryan Kamp
Ryan Kamp will no longer be riding in the black outfit he wore for the first week and a half of 2024. Starting at the Dutch National Cyclocross Championships, which will take place in Hoogeveen on Saturday 14, he will be sporting the iconic FENIX Verde Comodoro colour.
At the beginning of the year, Italian bike manufacturer Colnago and component producer Campagnolo ensured that Kamp could remain a pro rider on an individual basis. Now, FENIX is joining Kamp as a first jersey sponsor.
“As an Italian brand, we are proud to support this new FENIX project. It has an innovative approach and relies on Made-in-Italy partners. We are excited to be part of the development and growth of this young and talented rider,” said Stefano Mion, CEO of Arpa Industriale, the company that created FENIX innovative materials for interior design.
Italian shoe supplier Sidi and clothing manufacturer Alé, who made the iconic Verde Comodoro outfit, are supporting the project built around Kamp.
Superprestige Diegem: the winner is Puck Pieterse
Two days after the great first victory of the season in the UCI Cyclo Cross World Cup (here the news), Puck Pietersen won the penultimate round of the Superprestige series in Diegem, Belgium.
“It went really well, and so I’m happy about that,” Pieterse said at the finish line.
The Dutch champion closed the race in 47:06, just 27 seconds ahead of the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado. Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) finished in third position more than 34 seconds back. It was an authoritative performance by Pieterse who immediately separated from the other riders during the first lap, and didn’t have difficulties for the rest of the race. The Superprestige Diegem was held under the evening lights and many people came out to watch what was later called “the Puck Pieterse nighttime show.”
The FENIX-Deceuninck rider demonstrated to be in a magical moment. She has been consistent throughout the season, making it hard for other athletes to defeat her.
