Puck Pieterse has won the women’s cyclo-cross national championships in a dominant manner. On the tough, muddy course in Oisterwijk, the Fenix-Deceuninck rider went on the attack in the first lap. No one could keep up with her pace, she ended up trailing her competitors by more than a minute. Her teammate Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Marianne Vos initially battled for the other podium places, but the 37-year-old Vos eventually had to acknowledge her superiority. In the final phase, Vos even lost her third place to a strongly emerging Denise Betsema.
It was already certain in advance: a new champion would be crowned no matter what. Defending champion Lucinda Brand had to give up with a heavy heart after the intensive Christmas period. A weekend of rest was necessary. In previous years, the victories went to Pieterse, Vos and Alvarado – not coincidentally also the top favorites for this edition.
Leonie Bentveld had the best start and was the first to dive into the muddy field. Pieterse and Alvarado also started the match strongly. Marianne Vos had a slightly worse start, but was not fooled. With her experience she quickly moved to the front again.
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Pieterse immediately takes control of the race, Alvarado and Vos battle for second place
Pieterse immediately distanced himself from the competition in the first round and quickly built up a comfortable lead. Halfway through the lap the difference was about ten seconds on pursuers Vos and Alvarado. At the start of the second round, that gap had increased further to fifteen seconds on the riders of Fenix-Deceuninck and Visma-Lease a Bike. Unfortunately, Jamie de Beer already had bad luck in the opening round. Chain problems caused her to fall far behind, meaning her race was effectively over. So she gave up.
Behind Vos and Alvarado, Bentveld and Betsema were more than twenty seconds behind. Already in round two, Pieterse seemed to definitely pull the tablecloth. Fifteen seconds became half a minute. Pieterse was clearly better than her pursuers. Furthermore, status quo in the race. The 26-year-old Fenix-Deceunick rider put pressure on her 37-year-old competitor.
Final battle between Alvarado and Vos
In the third round, Alvarado seemed to have closed the final gap with Vos. At the first material station the difference was six seconds, and shortly afterwards this had increased to fifteen seconds. In the meantime, Puck Pieterse increased her lead over the pursuers to no less than 45 seconds. In the battle for fourth place, Bentveld, Betsema, Inge van der Heijden and Aniek van Alphen competed against each other, but they were already more than a minute behind.
In the last round the battle for bronze unexpectedly became exciting. Betsema came on strong and had Vos in her sights. In the meantime, Pieterse continued to drive faultlessly. She left the entire competition behind at least a minute behind her. An impressive performance by the 22-year-old rider from Amersfoort!
In the last lap nothing changed at the top of the race. Puck Pieterse rode gloriously to gold in Oisterwijk, while Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, more than a minute behind, secured silver. Marianne Vos seemed to be aiming for bronze for a long time, but in the last round Betsema suddenly emerged. The 31-year-old rider from Pauwels Sauzen – Cibel Clementines surprisingly took the bronze.
2025 Women’s Cyclo-Cross National Championships results
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