Puck Pieterse crowned her superb spring campaign with a breakout spring classics victory at the 2025 Flèche Wallonne Femmes, delivering a perfectly timed move on the punishing slopes of the Mur de Huy to overhaul Demi Vollering and claim the most important road win of her career so far.
The race began under grey, rain-soaked skies in Huy, with the notable absence of seven-time winner Anna van der Breggen, who withdrew due to illness. From the opening kilometres, the wet and narrow Ardennes roads encouraged chaos rather than control, with numerous small attacks forming but failing to gain significant ground. Riders like Maaike Coljé, Anne van Rooijen, and Julie de Wilde animated the early phase, but it wasn’t until Anne Knijnenburg managed to escape around 72km from the finish that a more serious move was established.
Knijnenburg’s solo effort lasted until Cédrine Kerbaol, riding for EF Education-Oatly, bridged across on the Côte d’Ereffe. Kerbaol soon showed she had the stronger legs, dropping Knijnenburg on the Côte de Cherave and heading into the final lap with close to a minute’s advantage over the peloton. FDJ-Suez, riding for pre-race favourite Demi Vollering, took responsibility for the chase, keeping Kerbaol on a tight leash and eventually reeling her back in on the second ascent of the Côte de Cherave, less than 7km from the finish.
As the race reached its decisive phase, Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto helped lift the pace to prevent further attacks, resulting in a peloton of around 25 riders charging towards the base of the final ascent of the Mur de Huy. Rain continued to fall, adding another layer of difficulty to the already steep and slick finale.
Juliette Labous took up the pace-setting duties for Vollering on the lower slopes of the Mur. Her acceleration immediately split the group, shedding riders like Lotte Kopecky, who had battled back earlier after a mechanical and a bike change but could no longer hold the pace. As Labous swung off with 350 metres to go, Vollering launched her attack. The world champion surged clear, hoping to repeat her winning move from two years ago, but Pieterse was glued to her wheel.
With just 150 metres left, as the gradient approached its steepest point of 19%, Pieterse rose out of the saddle and launched her decisive move. Vollering tried to respond but could not match the explosive power of the 22-year-old Dutchwoman, who pulled away metre by metre to reach the line two seconds ahead of the FDJ-Suez leader. Behind them, Elisa Longo Borghini dug deep to fend off Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney in the sprint for third place, while the young talents Nienke Vinke and Mijntje Geurts secured impressive top-ten finishes.
Photo Credit: GettyPost-race reactions
At the finish, Pieterse was clearly overwhelmed by the scale of her achievement. “I’m so happy with this victory, but I really had to give everything,” she said, smiling through the rain. “The first part of the race was quite controlled, and my teammates kept me perfectly positioned. In the final, I just thought, ‘now I really have to finish it off for them.’ I attacked exactly where my sports directors told me to, and it worked out perfectly. I’m finally listening to advice — maybe I should do that more often,” she added with a laugh.
Demi Vollering was gracious in defeat, despite her clear disappointment. “Puck just had a little more left at the end,” she said. “When I attacked, I focused on my own effort and didn’t look back. I tried to shift up, but my hands were so cold I struggled. Still, that’s no excuse. On the Mur, if you have to force it, you’re done. Puck was just stronger today.” Vollering was quick to praise her FDJ-Suez teammates, especially Labous, and turned her focus to Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where she believes she has another strong chance. “I have a lot of confidence for Sunday. Liège suits me even better,” she added.
Elisa Longo Borghini, who took her second podium in a week following her Brabantse Pijl victory, expressed satisfaction with her performance given the circumstances. “I blew up a little bit in the last 150 metres,” she admitted. “But overall I’m happy. I’m still adapting to my new team, and to be back on the podium in this jersey means a lot. We came here to win, but when you give it everything, you have no regrets.”
Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, despite missing the podium, found encouragement in her fourth-place finish. “We raced really well as a team today. Everyone committed 100%,” she said. “Fourth feels bittersweet, but it shows the form is there. Sometimes you need a small disappointment like this to fuel you for the next race. We’ll aim high again for Sunday.”
Among the other notable performances was 21-year-old Mijntje Geurts, who impressed with a strong ride to 10th place, her best ever result at WorldTour level. “I’m very proud of the whole team,” said team director Jos van Emden. “They showed today what they are capable of. Mijntje’s ride shows her progression, and it’s great to see several of our young riders stepping up.”
Meanwhile, 20-year-old Nienke Vinke of Team Picnic-PostNL finished eighth and was delighted with her performance. “It was chaotic and slippery out there, but our teamwork was fantastic. I felt good on the climbs and it’s reassuring to see the work from our recent altitude training pay off,” she said.
For Lotte Kopecky, the day was one of frustration. After crashing and needing a bike change earlier, she entered the final climb too far back and eventually faded to 12th. “I didn’t start the Mur in the right position, and you can’t fix that halfway up,” she admitted candidly. “It’s disappointing because I felt good otherwise. But no panic — I’m already focused on Liège. That finish suits me much better.”
Photo Credit: ASO-Thomas Maheux2025 Flèche Wallonne Femmes result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: ASO
