'My first big hit out against every single big rider' – Zoe Bäckstedt relishes star-studded time trial test at debut Tour de France Femmes

Every year at the Tour de France Femmes, a host of debutants are introduced to cycling's biggest race. This year it's no different, with the likes of Vuelta Femenina champion Paula Blasi and Giro d'Italia Women runner-up Antonia Niedermaier among the high-profile newcomers.

Also on the list of riders who will experience the Tour for the first time next week is Niedermaier's Canyon-SRAM teammate Zoe Bäckstedt, the double British champion enjoying a breakthrough season at the top level this year.

21-year-old Bäckstedt has seven wins to her name this season, including the recent Baloise Ladies Tour, and raced to a top-five at the Tour of Flanders back in the spring. This August, she'll be aiming for the Tour's stage 4 time trial in Dijon as well as supporting the GC aspirations of her teammate, 2024 champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney.

With nine wins against the clock on her palmarès, Bäckstedt, the reigning under-23 time trial world champion, has experienced plenty of success in her young career. The 21km test in Dijon, however, will be a new experience entirely.

"It will be my first big hit out against every single big rider. I did Tour de Suisse with Marlen Reusser, and that was my first time trial ever against her, I believe. So yeah, I'm just really looking forward to that and how that is going to be," Bäckstedt, who finished second to Reusser on stage 4 in Switzerland, told Cyclingnews.

"I've been preparing a lot of time trial stuff recently as it's the one stage that I'm really excited for because I know it's a day that I can fully ride for myself and fully test myself against all the best riders that will be there."

Bäckstedt turned pro with Canyon-SRAM two years ago and was soon getting a taste of Grand Tour racing – her fifth race of 2024 was the Vuelta – but she knows that the Tour will be on another level entirely.

"It's starting in Switzerland, which keeps throwing my brain off a little bit. I'm like, okay, on Wednesday I take the flight to France – no, I take the flight to Switzerland," she laughed.

"But it's going to be super cool, and I'm really excited. It's going to be honestly such a brutal race, but I'm really looking forward to it.

"I think I can predict the racing in my mind – I've watched it in the last years, and I know from everyone in the interviews and from speaking to my teammates that it's been super hard, super fast, super chaotic. I'm already prepared for that part, so I know the rough idea of how that's going to be.

"I think mostly the crowds and the media around the whole race is going to be the most uncertain part."

There's no pressure on the Welshwoman as she heads to Lausanne to kick off her Tour debut on Saturday, she said. She named Reusser, as well as her teammate Niedermaier, and GC favourite Demi Vollering, among the favourites to triumph in the time trial.

From her point of view, taking on a time trial against such tough competition several days into a major stage race will be something of a voyage into the unknown.

"Don't get me wrong, I would love to win, but at the same time, I have to be realistic, and I can't expect anything," she said.

"This is my first Tour. I don't know how I'm going to react to the hard racing and a lot of days back-to-back, so I don't want to put an expectation on myself to get a result. I could be on a great day, I could be on a bad day – you never know. So, I think it's just that I have to give 100%, 110%, 150% on that day, and whatever comes from it comes from it."

Preparation for the Tour is almost complete, and Bäckstedt said she's ridden a time trial course recon ahead of time. Currently, she's tapering following a big block of training including that recent successful Baloise Ladies Tour outing.

"Now this week is like a taper week, so just backing off a little bit. Still some long endurance rides with some efforts, but like the final, final, final prep," she said.

In addition to her win in Belgium, she's also shown her form – including a peak output of 450 watts – in a video for personal sponsor Red Bull in which she chased down top amateur rider Dan Jones on the 4km ascent of Cheddar Gorge in Southwest England. Bäckstedt has been Red Bull Athlete since 2024, owing to her success in multiple cycling disciplines.

Bigger tests will come in France, however. In addition to the time trial, there are hilly stages in Lausanne, the Loire, and the final day over the Col d'Eze. That's not to forget the brutal prospect of a summit finish atop Mont Ventoux, which looms over the race as its defining challenge.

Bäckstedt will be hard at work for Niewiadoma-Phinney there, a challenge she's relishing as much as that time trial.

"They're all super, super hard with a lot of climbing, so most of the days will be focussing on GC, getting Kasia into the right position into a climb or something like this, being on bottle duties, and just protecting and keeping her safe," she said.

"If there's any stages that end in a sprint and Chiara is there, then for sure I'm on full lead out for her. It would be really nice to see her get a good result in one of these stages. So yeah, the time trial is for me and on the others I'm working, and I'm really looking forward to that as well."

The goal for her and her Canyon-SRAM teammates will be to deliver the yellow jersey to Niewiadoma-Phinney's shoulders once again. The Polish racer has never finished off the podium in France, with a trio of third places accompanying her triumph on L'Alpe d'Huez two summers ago.

Any personal glory will be secondary to that overarching team goal, and, even though Bäckstedt's season is already a success, she'll also be aiming to get to the end of what will be the toughest stage race of her career to date

"I think it's been a really good season for me so far. I've really progressed over the Classics season," she said, before applauding her team for giving her the freedom to learn as she raced.

"I had a lot of support from the team to have some fun on the bike and just race for the fun of it. Like just going out there and if I go full gas on a climb and if I blow up on the next one, it doesn't really matter. It's just a situation where they were happy for me to be me and just race my bike, and I think that's really gone well.

"It's given me some good results, and it's just been it's been a cool season. Now, this is my first Tour. Whether it ends with a result along the way, or without one, I think making it even to the finish line in Nice would be a big achievement in itself."

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