Teenager Zoe Backstedt Happy With Silver Medal To End First Cyclo-Cross U23 Season

By Hannah Blackwell

Zoe Backstedt insisted she was thrilled to win a silver medal at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hoogerheide, in the Netherlands.

The 18-year-old Welsh star took second spot in the women’s under-23 category as the Great Britain Cycling Team ended the championships with more success.

Backstedt got off to a strong start, getting out in front in the lead group of three, before dropping Marie Schreiber to continue head-to-head with race favourite, Shirin Anrooij of The Netherlands.

Backstedt stayed close on Anrooij’s wheel for the first two laps, but as the race developed, Anrooij continued to push hard and by the penultimate lap had a 28 second lead on Backstedt.

Backstedt did well to stay on Anrooij’s wheel for as long as she could and held a strong one-minute lead on third place, meaning she crossed the finish line comfortably to claim the silver medal; an impressive end to the 18-year-old’s first cyclo-cross season in the under-23 category.

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Backstedt said: “I’m really happy to have come second, it was a tough race.

“I tried to hold on to Shirin’s wheel for as long as possible, but I knew I wasn’t realistically going to be able to fight until the finish because she’s one of the best in the world in the elites as well as the under-23s.

“Once she’d gone, I help the gap of 9-10 seconds and was only 30 seconds behind overall so I’m over the moon with that.

“It’s been a good season, the start was a little bit rough, but it’s got better and better and with the world champs being the last race before I head to the road with the team, it gives me a lot of motivation and I’m just really happy.”

Elsewhere in the race, debutants Millie Couzens and Ella Maclean-Howell rode well, sticking together for the majority of the race before finishing in 12th and 16th place respectively.

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Britain’s Cameron Mason delivered an impressive top 10 finish in the elite men’s race, while junior rider Alfie Amey took a top 20 finish in his first year on the squad.