Puck Pieterse
Puck Pieterse (born 13 May 2002 in Amersfoort, Netherlands) is one of the most exciting multi-discipline riders of her generation. A European champion in mountain biking and a top performer in cyclo-cross, she began expanding her road calendar with Fenix–Deceuninck. Known for her explosive power and bike-handling skills, Pieterse has shown promise in hilly one-day races and is steadily building her presence in the Women’s WorldTour peloton. Find Puck Pieterse’s latest results, stats and race calendar on this page.
Biography of pro cyclist Puck Pieterse
Puck Pieterse is that rarest of athletes: a true multi-discipline champion in an age of specialisation. Where most riders dedicate themselves to one branch of the sport, Pieterse races and wins across cyclo-cross in winter, mountain biking in summer and the road in spring, and does so at world-championship level in each.
Nicknamed by fans for her flame-red hair and fearless racing, she has the bike-handling of a cyclo-cross rider, the raw power of a mountain biker and, increasingly, the tactical maturity of a road classics winner. That combination has made her one of the most watched and most marketable names in cycling.
Early life and rise in the Netherlands
Born in Amersfoort in 2002, Pieterse made her mark across disciplines from a young age. She became Dutch and European junior cyclo-cross champion in 2019, and that same year made her mountain bike XCO debut, winning her first races. In 2020 she added the U23 European cyclo-cross title, and in the 2021/2022 winter she was crowned U23 cyclo-cross world champion in Fayetteville, USA.
That junior and U23 record marked her out immediately as a generational talent, equally at home in mud, on technical mountain trails and on tarmac.
The 2024 mountain bike World Championship
Pieterse's defining season came in 2024. In May she won her first-ever elite UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Nové Mesto na Morave, attacking on the final lap to beat the great Pauline Ferrand-Prevot. She added the XCO European title in June, and then in August produced a near-perfect ride to win the elite XCO World Championship at Pal Arinsal in Andorra, becoming the first Dutch woman ever to take the rainbow jersey in cross-country mountain biking. To cap an astonishing year she also claimed the U23 road world title.
Road breakthrough and the Spring Classics
On the road, Pieterse's progress has been just as rapid. In 2025 she claimed her first UCI Women's WorldTour victory by winning La Flèche Wallonne Femmes, attacking the punishing Mur de Huy. Across an 11-race spell from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in February to Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April, she never finished outside the top 10, a run of classics consistency that put her among the best one-day riders in the world.
Rider profile: strengths and style
Pieterse is an aggressive, instinctive racer with elite bike-handling honed by cyclo-cross and mountain biking. She is explosive on short, steep climbs (the Mur de Huy is ideal terrain) and her technical skills give her an edge in chaotic, wet or rough conditions. Her main challenge is managing a punishing multi-discipline calendar, balancing road classics, mountain bike World Cups and a return to cyclo-cross while protecting her long-term form.
Rivalries
Pieterse's emergence has reshaped the rivalries at the top of women's off-road cycling. In mountain biking she trades blows with the established greats of the discipline, while her cyclo-cross return pits her against the sport's dominant names as she chases an elite world title. On the road, she has gone toe-to-toe with the best in the Ardennes classics. Crucially, she frames these rivalries positively, “we can only make each other stronger”, relishing the competition that her own rise has intensified.
Personal life
Pieterse remains close to her cycling roots in Amersfoort and has committed her long-term future to the Fenix project, signing through to the end of the decade. Her openness, distinctive style and multi-sport approach have made her a fan favourite well beyond the Netherlands.
Records and milestones
- UCI Mountain Bike XCO World Champion (2024), first Dutch woman to win it
- UCI XCO European Champion (2024)
- First elite XCO World Cup win, Nové Mesto na Morave (2024)
- U23 Road World Champion (2024)
- U23 Cyclo-cross World Champion (2021/2022)
- Winner, La Flèche Wallonne Femmes (2025), first WorldTour road win
- Junior Dutch and European cyclo-cross champion (2019)
What's next for Puck Pieterse?
Pieterse's ambitions span the whole sport: an elite cyclo-cross world title to complete her rainbow-jersey collection, more mountain bike World Cup and World Championship success, a debut at the Tour de France Femmes, and continued growth as a road classics winner. With an Olympic mountain bike campaign also on the horizon, she is positioned to be one of the defining riders of her generation across not one discipline, but three.
