Backstedt Targets Tour de France Femmes Debut
Zoe Backstedt, who has secured 15 gold medals across road, track, and cyclo-cross disciplines at junior and under-23 levels, is setting her sights on making her debut at the Tour de France Femmes following a remarkable week at the British National Road Championships.
The 21-year-old cyclist from south Wales first successfully defended her elite time-trial title on Thursday with a commanding performance.
She then went on to claim her inaugural British road race title on Sunday in Aberystwyth, delivering an equally commanding victory. Backstedt now returns to her European base with ambitions focused on the Tour de France Femmes Grand Depart, scheduled for 1 August in Lausanne, Switzerland.
"The next one for me is going to be a race in Belgium," Backstedt told the BBC's Radio Wales Breakfast programme. "Then hopefully, as long as everything goes well, I'm hoping to be selected for the Tour de France as well this year. It would be incredible. It's giving me goosebumps already to think about it."
Her double triumph on home soil in west Wales capped off an impressive 10-day period, during which she also won a sprint stage at the Tour de Suisse Femmes the previous week, marking her ninth professional victory.
The Canyon-Sram rider's time-trial win covered 15.9 miles (25.6 km) in Ceredigion under sweltering conditions exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. Reflecting on the challenge, Backstedt said,
"It was super hard, the heat made it 10 times harder than I think I expected it to be."
By the time of Sunday’s 79.5 mile (128 km) road race, temperatures had dropped. Backstedt broke away from a chasing group to catch and surpass early leader Josie Knight, then rode solo for the final 8.6 miles (14 km) to secure victory by nearly two minutes.
"It was brutal," Backstedt said. "I mean, honestly, it was a blessing in disguise that the weather was a little bit cooler. I have to say I was grateful for some true Welsh weather, a little bit of rain in the morning. I had a great day on the bike, it was really fun."
Family Cycling Legacy
Backstedt turned professional in 2022 and, if selected for the Tour de France Femmes, would follow in the footsteps of her father, Magnus Backstedt, who competed in cycling's most prestigious Grand Tour seven times between 1998 and 2008, winning a stage on his debut.
Her older sister, Elynor, is also a professional cyclist with UAE Team ADQ, highlighting the family's strong ties to the sport.
"Well, my parents were always into cycling," Backstedt explained. "My mum was also British road race champion when she was racing still, it really runs in the family to be a cyclist. We always had the choice to go into different sports but everything just led towards cycling and, in the end, I'm so happy that I pursued it. I love this sport sometimes - I mean, don't get me wrong, sometimes it's awful - but sometimes these days, like yesterday, just make it all worth it."
Additional Context
Backstedt’s recent achievements have been noted alongside other developments in British cycling, including Barker reclaiming a title at the National Road Championships and Deignan taking on a sporting director role at GB Cycling.
