Pieterse on track for her big goals: "I'm improving every week, things are heading in the right direction"

"Yes, of course, I am super happy," Pieterse said in the flash interview. "It took me a while to win again, but I had a good feeling on the bike today and didn't make any big mistakes. I think that was important in this race," she immediately analyzes.

While this year's other big names have won many times, Pieterse has not yet. It did bother her. "I couldn't cope very well because I hadn't won yet. Of course, it's also about the feeling of being in the race, and that was just good. It also improved with each race, so I stuck to that. The team also saw that I was progressing every week."

Today, that manifested itself in a race not necessarily made for her. "Sand is normally not my strong point, but I rode smoothly over it today." In the last two laps, Brand, in particular, suddenly came closer. "I knew they were getting closer, and I already had a doomsday scenario like in Baal (where Brand caught up in the last lap, ed.). So I knew the race wasn't over. But when I passed the Reigersduin for the second time, I thought: a 15-second gap is a lot to make up."

So, Pieterse is moving toward her goals. "I hope to take this level to the Dutch National Championships and the World Championships. It's great to get such a massive win. I'm improving weekly; things are going in the right direction toward the national championships."