Puck Peterse is known for her success on a cyclocross bike, winning nine races this winter, including the U23 European title. Perhaps not surprisingly, the rising star chose Strade Bianche for her Women's World Tour debut on Saturday.

The 20-year-old is already one of the top riders on the cyclocross scene, with four UCI World Cup wins for Fenix-Deceuninck and a silver medal at last season's Hoogerheide Worlds.

In her cyclo-cross-focused career, her road calendar has been very limited, with last weekend's Omloop van het Hageland being her only professional appearance. Now the gravel roads of Strade Bianche await her.

Prior to the race, Pieterse uploaded a video of the team's scouting of the Tuscan route on Thursday. The team, which included cyclo-crosser Yara Kastelijn and Briton Sophie Wright, faced tough rainy conditions throughout the ride, with both camera and rider covered in mud.

Peeters tackled the course with a camera strapped to her chest, giving viewers a fresh look at what it is like to ride the famous white roads. Along the way, she commented that the gravel roads were "still better than the Belgian roads" and exchanged tips with her teammates, "I'll try not to cry on the climbs here."

Pieters also jokingly pointed out the points where the Phoenix-Desseuninck team should attack in a group during Saturday's race. The video ends with Pieterse making a wheelie while riding through Siena, and a police officer warning the riders about speed in the city.

Pieterse ended this reconnaissance with a joke." Two days before Yara Castellain won the Strade Bianche, I was second and everyone else on the team was third."

The race will be the first top-level stage of the season for the newly-formed Phoenix Desseuninck, which was promoted to the Women's World Tour over the winter and switched its racing identity from Planteur Pula.

They will battle defending champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Works), Annemiek van Fruten (Movistar), and Ashley Moolman Passio (AG Insurance-Soudal-Quick Step) on the 136km course this weekend.

Fortunately for the participating racers, the weather outlook for the race is better than when the course was reconsidered.

For more information on how to watch both the men's and women's races this Saturday, see our comprehensive streaming guide, How to watch Strade Bianche.