Puck Pieterse will line up in Namur on Sunday for her first ‘cross of the winter, ending weeks of speculation about when the multi-discipline star would re-enter the mud. Like Mathieu van der Poel, she has been juggling the road, mountain biking and ’cross at the highest level — but this winter, only one ambition drives her: finally winning the elite world title.

The outline of her season had been a mystery. Apart from a brief hint on Strava, Pieterse kept her schedule quiet until after a training camp in Spain with riders from Alpecin – Deceuninck and Felix – Deceuninck. (Soon to both be co-sponsored by Canadian company, Premier Tech.)

“We tried to make the best of it,” she said to Wielerflits.

Good weather helped. “You really don’t want to go riding somewhere it’s cold all week,” she said.

Return to competition

Her last race was the mountain bike world championships in mid-October, so Namur will be a hard restart. “The plan was to see how things felt in training camp, and then decide. I can confirm I’ll start — so it should be good,” she said. With no overall series to chase this winter, Pieterse is choosing races more freely, aiming to hit her peak at the world championships.

Hulst, The Netherlands is the site of this year’s worlds, and she’s done well there in the past. While she won’t call it her “best chance yet,” the Dutch rider admits the course suits her natural rhythm. “Those banks, the technical bits — it’s a course I really enjoy,” she said.

Starting alongside teammates Van der Poel and Tibor Del Grosso at Namur wasn’t a coordinated team plan, she insisted — just timing. She wanted to race there anyway:

“It is one of the most beautiful courses of the winter.”

As for expectations? The last three seasons I’ve been able to fight for podiums and wins. I expect the same. Mostly, I just hope to enjoy it and confirm the form is there.”

And though she switches disciplines smoothly, she insists cyclocross still matters. Once she’s racing, it becomes her main focus. “If I didn’t enjoy it,” she said, “I’d skip it and just aim for the spring.”