Pieterse, who, based on her age, should still be allowed to start with the U23 riders, rode in third position until halfway through the race, but then drove away from Van Empel and Alvarado. In the mud of Zaltbommel, where the course had been adjusted at the last minute due to the high level of the Waal and the heavy rain of the past few days, she ran away from the competition. In the last lap Carmen Alvarado came close, but Pieterse kept her lead. World champion Marianne Vos finished disappointingly in tenth.
Puck Pieterse Dutch cyclo-cross champion: ‘The choice has paid off’
