Soon clay fishing in Dublin had two champions.
Puck Pieterse first landed over the bars, then had to fiddle with her chain, but on the second run she made contact again with Fem van Empel, who at the time was sliding single-handedly at the head of the race in Irish clay.
The beginning of the “World Cup jump”, according to commentator Renate Schott.
For example, Pieterse and Van Empel didn’t feel like catching mud slicks in their opponent’s wheel for a long time.
To the loud cheers of the Irish fanatics, the duo delighted the audience with one handsome gear after another.
Only at the final corner did Van Empel manage to clear away her Dutch companion with a final sprint. Good for her tenth victory of the season, despite stomach problems.
Dennis Betsema was third after a lonely afternoon.
Wim van Embel said before the start that she had stomach problems. “Things got worse during the race,” she said, despite her victory.
“Puck (Pieterse) got away a few times, but I was able to come back every time. My legs weren’t, but my stomach wasn’t 100%.”
“We were evenly matched. We had to fight until the end and today it was up to me.”
Puck Pieterse had to catch on after an early fall. “My chain broke for a while. I decided to jump the beams anyway, but I got a bit stuck and my chain broke again. It took me a while.”
“I drove forward, but it was precious seconds. In the end, I wanted to keep pressing, but Wim still had the last punch and he was gone.”
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