HUY (Belgium) – Even a ray of sunshine appears when the sun is about to arrive Women's cycling's Fleche Wallonne. On the roadside the crowd is as warm as for the men a moment before. Everyone's already rubbing their hands for Belgian heroine Lotte Kopecky. However, when the Mur d'Huy begins, the world champion drops back into the rankings. Demi Vollering, her Dutch rival, is about to win, but who wins instead? Puck Pieterse, who's also Dutch... but not Vollering, the Belgians' rival of rivals.
In all of this we must not forget our undisputed number one, Elisa Longo Borghini. Third, back on the podium at the Freccia. If we understand correctly, when she crossed the finish line, still panting, she whispered to the girls over the radio: "Sorry." And she finished third. As Totò used to say: "Gentlemen are born."
A biker on the Wall
But let's get to the protagonist of the day. The athlete of the Fenix-Deceuninck not only did he win, but he forcefully relaunched a theme that was circulating even among men regarding the assault on the Walls, according to which bikers and cyclocross riders were favored by this steep segment.
Do you reckon GOD MODE (ep.XNUMX) Remco Evenepoel he had said the day before: «We don't have to carry Thibau Nys in a carriage under the Wall». And many people considered Tom Pidcock the favorite, or at least Pogacar's number one rival.
"Am I surprised by Pieterse's victory?" Elisa Longo Borghini explains. "Up to a point. Yes, she was more of an outsider, but these three-minute efforts, because the Wall is so long, are very suitable for those who do cross-country or mountain biking."
And Puck Pieterse doesn't back down. «My biker skills actually helped me on the Wall. They helped me on certain slopes and also helped me get the bike going again. We often have to deal with violent efforts and such steep climbs. It was an effort I enjoyed, but it's also true that I felt particularly fit today. This morning, I was asked what mountain bike climb I could compare to the Mur de Huy. I thought of a really tough climb from the Leogang World Cup. I said to myself: 'I'll pretend I'm there.'"
“Orange” rivalry
Pieterse is a Pidcock-type cyclist, if you will: a biker who then moved on to the road. And she's also a great cyclocross rider. But above all, she's the reigning world champion in mountain biking.
«Today I'm really happy. It's my second success on the road (he had won a stage at Tour de France Women's cycling, ed.) – Pieterse said – as I repeat, I was fine. I started out feeling very calm. And I remained so throughout the entire race. The tactic? It was simple. Wait for the final pass on the Wall. I must say that my teammates did a good job of keeping me covered at all times.
«I also reviewed the last ten editions. And in addition I received advice from Annemiek Van Vleuten. "Actually, when I asked her something, she filled me with data and analyses. She practically sent me a book!" Maybe she really believed it.
Some Dutch journalists press her about the internal duel with Demi Vollering, but Puck doesn't flinch. "There's no specific rivalry with Demi. I thought about taking her wheel, I was waiting for her to accelerate more, but she didn't. At that point, when I got close to her, I thought about giving it my allThis victory is truly incredible."
Casasola's hand
But in all this there is also a nice little piece of Italy, and this little piece is called Sarah CasasolaThe Italian is Pieterse's partner and had a great Freccia. Moreover, despite working for her captain, she finished 19th: not bad for someone making her debut in these races.
“I’d say it went really well,” Sara says as she enjoys the podium with her teammates. “Puck won, so it couldn’t be better! Maybe we didn't expect it, but we were confident, because she had already climbed onto the podium at the Amstel. and she had shown good condition. And then as a team we ran well. We were always up front and compact. I had to try to cover the breakaways a bit, but there wasn't much movement. For the rest, I had to assist a bit with puck positioning, and in fact I brought her in front of the entrance to the Mur d'Huy.
«Every now and then I talked to her and every time she replied: “Good, good.” But when Puck is like that in front, it means he really has the legs."
We also discuss the off-road issue with Sara on this route, since she too is a cyclocross specialist.
«Let's say we are a team made up almost entirely of cross-country riders. Multidisciplinary pays off, apparently. I'm definitely in the right team to do this. Overall, I feel good in Belgium. The explosive effort thing is right."
Sara is truly adopting a Belgian mentality. She feels at ease in her first classic races, isn't afraid of bad weather, and transitions from cross bike to road bike with great ease.
«These are the first times I've done real classics here in Belgium. The team is giving me a lot of confidence and has scheduled many important races for me. I'm learning a lot. Racing both cross-country and road at a high level. Of course, you have to find a balance. I'll rest a bit at the end of the Ardennes. I'm still struggling a bit with my positions at high speeds, but I know we're doing the right thing."
