Puck Pieterse's Tactical Brilliance at World Cup Nove Mesto
Is cyclocross good for mountain biking? It might be!
After reading my preview for XCO MTB SZN on Friday, several Bulletin readers reached out to point out my Robfusion, for which I apologize. However, immediately after hitting the publish button, I realized that I had intended to give a shoutout to our young cyclocross friends Puck Pieterse and Fem van Empel, both of who chose to level up from the U23 category to race the Elites in mountain bike as well this year. (Line Burquier also raced the Elites on Sunday, but per the UCI site, she is still retaining her U23 eligibility).
I was honestly a bit surprised that no one pointed out this omission, and after Sunday’s race, don’t I feel like a bit of a joker for not giving their Dutch wunderkinds their due in my previews. I guess you should also feel bad for not pointing out my error. As Homer Simpson would say, it takes two people to make a mistake—one to make a mistake and one to listen.
In all seriousness, if you haven’t already heard, Puck Pieterse made her Elite UCI XCO Mountain Bike World Cup debut on Sunday at World Cup Nove Mesto, and she didn’t just finish top ten, she didn’t just get on the podium, she won the race. Like, the whole thing. Like, she defeated four-time and defending XCO World Champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot in a two-up, last-lap showdown.
If you haven’t watched or are only tangentially interested, it was an absolute banger of a race and is 100% worth watching from start to finish. If I were to reach for a recent corollary, I would point to the transcendent Elite Men’s race at Diegem last December, in that Sunday’s race was constantly in flux and a palpable tension permeated the contest, reaching a crescendo in the last 5 minutes of racing, not only because PP and PFP (IDK, that’s how I ended up writing my notes) were racing for the win but also because XCO superstar Loana Lecomte was within 5 to 10 seconds of the leaders the entire final third of the race.
Emotions aside from seeing yet another of our beloved cyclocross stars make good in another discipline, what stood out for me in Pieterse’s win was her absolutely brilliant race tactics. And I think there is a good argument to be made that her tactical decisions can be directly tied to her upbringing in the sport racing cyclocross.
A lot has been made about how cyclocross is good for young riders because it’s accessible, it’s fun, and it builds technical and power abilities, but I also think we have seen with so many of the ‘cross crossovers that it also teaches you how to race your bike. Kerry Werner talked about why he loves ‘cross in an interview last fall, and one of the biggest reasons for him is that you have to make dozens if not hundreds of small decisions every race—when to attack, when not to attack, when to rest, when to run, when to ride.
It was supremely enjoyable to watch Pieterse making these decisions throughout the race and ultimately playing it perfectly by attacking right before the final descent and ensuing climb to take the win from one of the sport’s all-time greats.
I was planning on doing a race report for the Elite Women’s race, but nawwwww, let’s talk about Puck.
‘Cross Cross-Over Tactics
One sign that maybe I should have done a late add to the XCO preview was that Pieterse not only qualified for Friday’s Short-Track race, she raced really well, finishing 7th and earning a front-row start position for Sunday’s XCO contest. As if to rub it in, she took the holeshot to start Sunday’s XCO race, reminding me that yes, Puck Pieterse is not only worth a mention but worth a mention as a potential impactor of races.
Joining Pieterse at the front near the top of the long, wide opening climb was Fem van Empel, who used her exceptional fitness to move all the way up to 4th. The reigning cyclocross World Champ’s time at the front was fleeting, however, as she faded all the way back to 18th at the end of the 8-minute prologue and went on to finish a respectable 17th in her first Elite MTB World Cup.
Pieterse held her position in the top 10 throughout the first lap as Evie Richards and then Haley Batten went absolute ham on the opening double-track climb and then the subsequent single-track climb. Pieterse held on to cross the line 8 seconds back of a flying Batten after the opening half-lap.
This in and of itself was a tactical decision by Pieterse. Based on the cyclocross season, one could score her rider profile as having great, not elite fitness (at least compared to Van Empel) and elite technical and tactical skills. After the race, Pieterse said she was hanging on for dear life in the first lap, fully expecting to blow up thanks to the extremely high pace. Everyone would have certainly tipped their cap to her for going full send in her first Elite race if she did blow up early on.
That, however, did not happen. Her decision to try to match the early ballistic pace paid off since it quickly became apparent that everyone was riding in the red. The first race of the season will do that to you sometimes slash all of the times.
At the completion of the first proper lap, ngl, I was fully expecting this story to be about Evie Richards being … BACK. Richards led the chase of Batten early on in Lap 1 and then just rode away from Batten, Pieterse, Ferrand-Prevot, Sina Frei, Martina Berta, and Rebecca Henderson on the second climb to the tune of a 15-second lead one lap into the race.
Speaking of tactics, watching Richards turn the screws in this race in reminiscent of one of my favorite Evie Richards moments. At the post-race press conference for the 2018 World Cup Waterloo—back when they did those things, since it was basically attended by me, Boedi, and some dude from Trek—the Trek dude asked Richards about tactics in the Friday Trek CX Cup when she went 1-2 with Ellen Noble, who was also then on Trek Factory Racing.
Richards said the following, “I’m definitely not one for tactics. Tactics go out the window. I don’t think I’ve ever gone into a race with tactics on my mind.”
Evie, the anti-Puck.
Not that a rider with Pieterse’s history and talent needs such a moment, but if there was a moment where Pieterse was like, “Huh, I can do this,” it had to be in Lap 2. With Richards still off the front and Pieterse in a large chase group, the young Dutch phenom casually dropped the chase group on the second of the three climbs, the Whoop wall climb.
Pieterse’s move also made the race what it would be the rest of the way. Ferrand-Prevot followed and caught Pieterse at the start of a fateful Lap 3, while the rest of the chase fell 20 seconds behind 2nd and 3rd positions.
The chase group Pieterse was in was legit—Ferrand-Prevot, Loana Lecomte, Rebecca Henderson, Sina Frei, among others—and one would have given her a pass for racing for 2nd early on, but Pieterse’s decision to go on the attack kept Richards’ lead at just 10 seconds and not the 33 seconds the rest of the group was chasing.
As Bill would say, Pieterse tactically decided to stay in the Anything Can Happen Zone, and folks, anything did happen.
Shortly before the top of the second of three climbs in Lap 3, Richards suffered a rear flat. Fortunately, the air left her tire right before the Technical Zone in the woods. The wheel change kind of took a long time, and when Richards was finally back on her way, Pieterse and Ferrand-Prevot were in the lead, and Lecomte was sitting 10 seconds behind them. Richards fell back to 30 seconds off the lead.
Despite having a 10-second lead, the situation midway into the race was not necessarily ideal for Pieterse and Ferrand-Prevot. Ferrand-Prevot is more than acutely aware of Lecomte’s talent after getting punk’d by the youngster at French Nationals in 2021 and 2022, and when she’s on, Lecomte has gained a reputation of being ON. In short, it was in the two leaders’ best interest to not make it a three-way battle for the win.
In the 4th Lap, whether intentional or not, Pieterse and Ferrand-Prevot played a perfect good cop - bad cop routine, with the two consistently trading leads through climbs and descents. The gambit paid off, as the top expanded their advantage on Lecomte to 19 seconds entering the fifth of six laps. The Lecomte issue was put to rest, at least for now.
However, near the end of Lap 4, Pieterse made a tactical decision that at the time was perplexing, but in retrospect is perhaps the best bet she made all race.
Pieterse took over the lead before the log-jump descent and subsequent single-track climb. At the top of the climb, she pulled aside and casually let Ferrand-Prevot get back in front for the descent. When Pieterse took a trip through the Feed Zone, Ferrand-Prevot capitalized with an attack that gave her an advantage heading into the penultimate lap.
Ferrand-Prevot started to expand her lead on the first two climbs, and it appeared Pieterse was cooked. There would be no shame in a 2nd-place finish after going all-out with the defending World Champion. With the gap at 7 seconds entering the bell lap, that appeared to be the case.
But, despite fading back, Pieterse did not necessarily look cracked. It’s almost as if she had a plan.
We have all been there in a race or on a group ride where we are riding above our station in life. While bleeding through your eyeballs, you know that if the other folks in the group turn the screws just a little bit more, you will be absolutely donezo. The only hope in these situations is usually a stop light or the off chance that everyone else is getting smoked as well. Sometimes all it takes is those minutes of letting off the gas to regain some composure and ultimately not get dropped.
It is hard to argue that this was not Pieterse’s plan in letting Ferrand-Prevot go to the front in Lap 4 and then letting her get a small but manageable gap in Lap 5. A bit of a self-imposed stop light. Yeah, she could have kept smashing with Ferrand-Prevot, but she wouldn’t have anything left to win the race. Her best play was to let up a bit, regain some semblance of energy, and make a last-lap play for the win.
Pieterse’s rope-a-dope strategy paid off when she caught Ferrand-Prevot on the first climb of the bell lap. Unfortunately for the two, Lecomte was also on the move, and the young Frenchwoman was within 7 seconds with two climbs left to go. At the start of the second climb, Lecomte was within literally moderate outside voice distance of the two leaders (I was going to say shouting distance, but it was probably closer than that).
Pieterse let Ferrand-Prevot lead that entire second climb and the ensuing descent. Could she have passed? Maybe. Would it have been wise? Tactically speaking, no.
The Nove Mesto course can generally be said to have three climbs. But that is not entirely true. Following the second big climb, there is a small descent through the woods before a steep kicker up to the Tech Zone. Following the Tech Zone, there is a high-speed descent down the log jumps and then the singletrack third climb that really only has one line unless the rider in front of you makes a mistake.
One could argue that the sprint to the summit just past the Tech Zone was the finish before the finish. Did Puck Pieterse, seasoned cyclocross racer know this? You bet she did.
Just past the row of mechanics, Pieterse threw every last bit of energy she had into an attack. Ferrand-Prevot was caught flat-footed. Maybe she should have kept racing cyclocross, IDK.
That move was the move. When you win the finish before the finish, you win the race. Puck Pieterse’s final tactical move was to win the finish before the finish, and she won the race.
When you are competing at the highest level of sport, all the competitors are fit and skilled. With young riders such as Pieterse and Tom Pidcock excelling across disciplines, there is a good argument to be made that cyclocross can help hone a rider’s tactical skills to give them an edge against their competitors. Puck Pieterse put on a masterclass of how race tactics can be applied across disciplines on Sunday at World Cup Nove Mesto and the result was a standout win that again brought the benefits of racing ‘cross to the attention of the entire sport.
Cover image: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
Awesome write up. Can't wait for more Puck battles with PFP. Evie came into this race hot, really bummed to see her flat. Would have really made for an even more exciting final.
Great stuff Zach. And if anyone’s looking for further confirmation of your thesis, have a look at Josh Dubau’s Cx results from last season 👀 👍