Multi-discipline star Pac Pieterse, after suffering a late-game flat tire in the cross-country mountain bike race at the Paris Olympics that put his silver medal hopes in jeopardy, will shift his focus back to the road, making his debut in the Tour de France Femmes.

The Tour de France Femmes is Piet's first Grand Tour as well as an elite-level stage race. However, he has finished in the top half of the race despite his inexperience, finishing fifth in last year's Strade Bianche, sixth in April's Tour de Flanders, and only once outside the top 10 in the 2024 event.

Pieterse casually announced the news on Dutch television after missing out on a medal in the MTB at Elancourt Hill, where France's Pauline Ferrand-Prevot won gold.

"I'm going to ride around the Netherlands, Belgium and France. I'm going to finish in Alpe d'Huez," Pieterse said on the NOS talk show Studio Parijs

.

After the mountain bike race, Pieterse was devastated and even considered protesting that the Dutch National Team ran "without feeding or technical assistance" after silver medalist Hayley Batten passed through the pit zone. However, Batten was immediately fined, but no further action was taken, and the Dutchman's fourth place was confirmed.

By focusing on the Tour, Pieters was able to recover quickly from his disappointment.

The 2024 Tour de France Femme will start on August 12 in her native Netherlands, with three stages centered in Rotterdam, the first overseas grande parte since the inaugural event in 2022.

Her off-road rival and current cyclocross world champion Femme van Empel (Visma-Lease A Bike) will also start on August 12 and run through August 18 with the grand finale in Alpe d'Huez It will make its debut at the Tour de France Femme.

Pieterse is part of Phoenix d'Esteunique, which was one of the top teams at last year's Tour.

Their aggressive race was capped by a stage win on day four in Rodez, with Yara Castellane escaping to take the stage win.

Unlimited access to all coverage of the 2024 Tour de France Femme. More information.