Puck Pieterse won the main race of the mountain bike World Cup in Val di Sole, Italy, on Sunday. The Dutch all-rounder also won the short race on Friday, achieving a first.
Pieterse is the first woman to win both races in two consecutive World Cups. Two weeks ago, she also won both races in tough conditions in Leogang, Austria.
In the warm Val Di Sole, the 23-year-old Pieterse quickly took the lead. No one could follow the world champion. In the fourth lap, she fell, but no one could catch her. Samara Maxwell finished 26 seconds behind Pieterse in second place. Laura Stigger finished 44 seconds behind the Amersfoort native.
Pieterse spoke of a tough ordeal in the warm Val di Sole after the finish. “I saw at the beginning of the race that I quickly had a gap and went for it, although it was quite difficult to maintain focus,” she said shortly after the finish.
“The Italian fans always make so much noise. Fortunately, I was able to recover and maintain my lead. I had a thirty-second lead in the last lap, and that seems like a lot, but it isn’t. One mistake, and it can be over.”
Pieterse in third place in World Cup standings
Maxwell is at the top of the World Cup standings. Pieterse skipped the first two World Cups because she was still riding road races. She is in third place. Nicole Koller is number two in the ranking.
The next World Cup race for Pieterse is scheduled in three weeks. She will then travel to Andorra.