The Welsh rider broke away on the first lap of the Wollongong circuit at the junior women’s world championships, taking a commanding win in front of an appreciative crowd.
Soloing into the finish with arms aloft, Bäckstedt crossed the line 2’07 ahead of the rest of the field, her dominant performance underscoring the quality of her past few years at the head of the junior category.
“I was in tears with a kilometre to go,” said Bäckstedt. “There were so many people out on the course shouting happy birthday, especially on the climb, that was where I needed it the most.
“I noticed one thing out of the corner of my eye, that there was a girl in a pink onesie running beside me and I am so grateful for that as it just pushed me on so much.”
Bäckstedt's mother, Megan Hughes, and father, Magnus, are both former professional cyclists, and her sister Elynor, 20, rides professionally for Trek-Segafredo, while Zoe will step up to the pro ranks next year with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB.
Such was the strength of Bäckstedt, that when she attacked just 10 kilometres after the race start with 58 kilometres to go in the race, her competitors made an initial attempt to follow before shifting into chasing the remaining medals left out on course, with the gold medal taken away.
Bäckstedt was asked if attacking so early was part of the plan.
“Not in the slightest, especially not on the downhill, I thought I’d go with a lap to go,” said Bäckstedt. “I got over the climb, I was climbing at the front and over a climb like that and for me, the rider that I am that’s not predicted, normally I chase back on the downhill. I got away and that was it pretty much it.”
“It got out to 2’55 then it started shrinking again, when it got down to two minutes I just started to panic. I had my coach in the car behind who said don’t stress, you’ve got two minutes, take it easy, don’t risk it on the downhill. But I didn’t listen to her, I dug in all the way to the line and this is the outcome.”
The sprint for second was over two minutes behind, which saw Eglantine Rayer (France) place second with Nienke Vinke (Netherlands) third, a performance that mirrored the dominance of Remco Evenepoel winning in the 2018 junior men’s road race world championships.
Bäckstedt has now compiled five junior world championships wins to her name across three disciplines. Three on the road, including a dominant time trial/road race double in Wollongong, one in cyclocross and one in the Madison on the track.
“The track one wasn’t the plan,” said Bäckstedt, “my coach asked me and I literally went to one session before that race, landed the day before the race, that was a bit of a spur of the moment sort of thing.
“I enjoy riding my bike, it doesn’t matter which discipline its in, I just have fun doing it. There’s no pressure on me to perform at my best, I just try to have fun and I find that when I’m having fun, the results come.”
Bäckstedt’s step up to her neo-professional Women’s WorldTour season from the junior ranks is going to be an increase in the level of competition for the British rider, but she looks well up to the challenge, and most importantly, she looks forward to enjoying herself during her entry onto the professional scene.
“Probably less on the track, as it’s my first year with EF,” said Bäckstedt when asked if she would continue with her cross-discipline approach, “and I’ll be focusing on the road and on cyclocross. The option is there at the moment, and it’s racing my bike, so I’ll do what makes me happy.”
