Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM) will carry her strong end-of-season road racing form into the new cyclocross season with an eye on defending her under-23 title at the UCI Cyclocross World Championships scheduled in Liévin, France on February 2.
Bäckstedt and her team announced that her cyclocross season would begin at X2O Trophee - Lokeren Rapencross on November 10, and include a condensed line-up of races from November to February with multiple double weekends that also feature events on the UCI Cyclocross World Cup.
"This year's World Cup program is condensed into less than 2.5 months. That means a lot of intense weekends with double days. I've still not had too many full cyclocross seasons at the elite level, but I look forward to seeing how I progress," Bäckstedt said.
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"One of the biggest goals will be the World Championships, not too far from my home in Belgium and, fingers crossed, a course that I will find fun.
"But most importantly for this season, it's just to enjoy it and push all the way in each race. The road season didn't go 100% to plan, so I want to take each race as it comes."
Bäckstedt's road season might not have gone according to plan but she had a strong end of the season with a stage victory at the Simac Ladies Tour where she led the overall classification for the first three stages. She ended finishing third overall behind Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) and Franziska Koch (dsm-firmenich PostNL).
"The end of my road season was better than expected," Bäckstedt said. "It excites me for the cyclocross season, knowing I have some good form for the first races. I just need to dial in the technical aspects, and I'm ready to go."
Bäckstedt will be working with Canyon-SRAM's newly-hired cyclocross director Geert Wellens in the first five scheduled races of her season; Lokeren X²O Trophee, Merksplas Superprestige, Hamme X²O Trophee, Antwerpen World Cup and the Dublin World Cup, and the rest of her races will be announced at a later date.
"I worked with Geert for 2.5 years when moving from juniors to the elite category. I always loved how he approached coaching sessions and made them fun. Geert's knowledge is like no other, and I find this beneficial when I'm at a cyclo-cross race. Having the best support pre-, during, and post-race helps me stay focused and confident going into each race," Bäckstedt said.
Bäckstedt and Wellens worked together when she was racing for Acrog-Tormans team in the under-19 category. Last year, Bäckstedt had an outstanding season with five victories that included U23 titles at the UEC European Cyclocross Championships and the UCI Cyclocross World Championships.
Wellens aims to work with Bäckstedt on maintaining balance, motivation and race-day mindset during the cyclocross season, while also working on technique and specific skills on the courses that she will be racing.
"We'll see Zoe's level in the first races. It's important to take the season step by step. Of course, Zoe's biggest race is the World Championships, but that's the same for every rider. We aim to start with a good feeling in the first races, then go into the first World Cups confidently and set our other season goals," Wellens said.
Cyclocross schedule
- November 10, 2024 - Lokeren X²O Trophee
- November 16, 2024 - Merksplas Superprestige
- November 17, 2024 - Hamme X²O Trophee
- November 24, 2024 - Antwerpen World Cup
- December 1, 2024 - Dublin World Cup
