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Puck Pieterse mastered the sand to take a third 2023-2024 World Cup victory at Zonhoven ahead of Inge van der Heijden and Zoe Backstedt in a race overshadowed by a heavy crash for Lucinda Brand whilst leading the field.
Brand skidded heavily on a left-hand bend at speed on the third lap, injuring her face and leaving the race on foot immediately afterwards.
Pieterse had endured a difficult start, puncturing on the first lap, but was able to fight back and move into the lead when Brand crashed.
The Dutchwoman claimed her second straight World Cup victory as a result and moved up to second overall in the series. Afterwards, she recognised that luck had played a part in her latest win whilst wishing Brand all the best for a speedy recovery.
“I had a flat back tyre at the start, so I just tried to stay close to the front and that chasing back took a bit of energy out of me,” she said.
“Then suddenly I saw Lucinda standing on a corner, and I thought she had a mechanical or something.
“But a few corners later, I could see she still wasn’t there anymore. That was a bit of luck for me, of course, but I hope everything is fine with her.”
How it unfolded
On a bitterly cold day in East Belgium, Pieterse was quickly in the lead of the 57-rider field, but the Dutchwoman was unfortunate enough to puncture early on, giving Brand a free hand to move into the lead position.
Brand gave it everything she could early on, taking a steady line through the sand, looking for the harder-packed sections, and gaining 12 seconds on Backstedt and Van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) by the end of the first lap of six.
Pieterse was closing in on fourth at that point after…
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