Puck Pieterse: “There was one person just stronger today”

April 26 ^th 2026 - 18:49

Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech): “Last year it was a sprint for victory while today was for second place. There was one person just stronger today. From la Redoute, I was in a group trying to close the gap or keep Demi [Vollering] in sight at least. With the headwind today, I think it was even les favourable to stay away if you were alone after La Redoute. A lot can happen but on La Roche-aux-Faucons I knew we wouldn’t catch her so I focused on the sprint and I’m happy I could finish it off for second place.”

“I think with the legs I had last year I wouldn’t have been able to keep up for second place. The final opened up so quickly. Actually, the race was already hard on the first climb, after 25 kilometres. Today, we just saw a really, really hard race. The pace was super high on every climb so it built up a lot of fatigue and it was a very reduced group over La Redoute, compared to other years. It was just a lot and I’m happy that my level was good enough to stay in the mix.”

“I’m happy [with her spring Classics campaign]. To be on the podium in Flanders, I was already super happy. And to be good now in the Ardennes, I can’t complain. I have a few days off now and then I’ll switch my focus on mountain biking. I won’t be racing on the road until the Tour de France.”