The rehersal that ended in a fall: Pieterse is already thinking about winning Roubaix

The Classics season is upon us, and one of the riders expected to make a difference is Puck Pieterse. The Dutch rider from the Fenix–Premier Tech team arrives with credentials after establishing herself as one of the most versatile and technical cyclists in the international peloton. But even the most talented specialists can have a lapse in focus. And that is exactly what happened to her during a reconnaissance in Roubaix.

Puck Pieterse rehearses her triumphant entry into the Roubaix velodrome

Pieterse has earned the label of a complete rider, shining in cyclocross, road, and MTB. She is the world champion in XCO and the best young rider, wearing the white jersey, in the Tour de France Femmes. In the Ardennes, she has also made her mark, with podium finishes in Liège–Bastogne–Liège Féminine and Amstel Gold Race, as well as a victory in La Flèche Wallonne Féminine.

Her technical skills on the road sometimes remind one of her compatriot and teammate Mathieu van der Poel. She excels in descents, navigates with precision, and is one of the few female riders capable of jumping obstacles during competition. But things don’t always go as planned.

In one of her recent training sessions, Pieterse completed a lap of the legendary Vélodrome André-Pétrieux, the final venue for the Paris-Roubaix Femmes. There, she decided to joke around by practicing a celebration similar to the one Van der Poel usually does when he crosses the finish line victorious.

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The result was a small stumble with no consequences, which she took with humor. In fact, she shared the video on her Strava profile accompanied by a phrase in Dutch that can be translated as “A bad rehearsal is a sign of a good final.”

Beyond the anecdote, the gesture reveals that Roubaix is very much present in her goals for the year. The women's edition will take place on April 12, and it is a race that fits her profile perfectly.

If the stumble in the velodrome serves as a positive omen, as she herself suggests, perhaps the next time she raises her arms in Roubaix, there will be no room for error.