The Human Powered Health Women's WorldTour team have announced the signing of Magnus Backstedt as the team's head Sports Director.
The team has secured three more years of support from their title sponsor and are hiring the former Paris-Roubaix winner to help them become one of the top-ranked teams in the world. Backstedt is currently an assistant sports director for the Cofidis Women's team but will move across to the US team in 2026.
"This is a growing project, and that is what excites me," Backstedt said. "Now is the perfect time for me to come in and help guide the team towards where it wants to be."
The 50-year-old has two daughters in the WorldTour: Zoe, who races for Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, and Elynor who is contracted with UAE Team ADQ through 2027.
Backstedt befriended Human Powered Health's performance manager Kenny Latomme during the UCI director course in 2022.
"I've always kept a close eye on the team since that point. When Kenny said that he wants the team aiming for the top five in the world ranking, he had me hooked."
Human Powered Health joined the Women's WorldTour in 2022 and should narrowly make the sporting criteria for a new three-year WorldTour licence from 2026-2028.
They are currently 15th in the UCI Team Rankings for 2024-2025. With EF Education-Oatly putting in a bid to be promoted to the WorldTour and Roland dropping to ProTeam status next year, Human Powered Health will have to be sure to hold onto their place in the standings at the end of the 2025 season.
"We are proud to have Magnus join our team. He brings huge experience, both as a former champion and as a proven leader in women's teams at the top of the sport," the team's general manager Ro De Jonckere said.
"With the renewed support of Human Powered Health, we move towards our goal of becoming a top-ranked team by 2028. Magnus's experience and passion for the sport will be a key element in helping us to raise the level of our team.
"Magnus has a deep tactical understanding and experience in growing athletes to reach their full potential. In our conversations with Magnus, it was clear straight away that we are aligned in vision and values. We are very much looking forward to a great collaboration."
The team will bring Backstedt in for their October pre-season screening at the Human Powered Health Performance Lab in Wellesley, MA.
"It's a key part of the team and I'm excited to see what happens at the lab, how they go about their work and how we can draw upon their experience and expertise," Backstedt said.
"This way we can package everything into raising the performance and abilities of the team. It's really exciting to have this facility."
The team will count on Backstedt's expertise in the Classics from his professional career, which included the victory in the 2004 Paris-Roubaix as well as a stage in the Tour de France (1998).
"I always love the Classics," Backstedt said.
"It's the part of the year that's most difficult to get right. It challenges you to get everything as close to perfect as possible. I enjoy stage races too, of course, and going to the big three tours with clear GC objectives excites me."
