“Everyone wants to win it” - Zoe Bäckstedt dreams of winning Paris-Roubaix 20 years after her father Magnus’ victory at the Hell of the North
Cycling
In 2004, Magnus Bäckstedt took the biggest win of his career at Paris-Roubaix, taking the victory on the concrete velodrome in a sprint from a four-man group. A few months later, his daughter Zoe was born and now 20 years on she is set to line up at the Hell of the North for the second time in her career with dreams of taking the victory.
Having ridden the race in her debut professional season last year whilst riding with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB, Zoe has now joined forces with Magnus at Canyon//SRAM Racing, where he is one of the team’s sports directors. He will be in the team car at Paris-Roubaix Femmes this weekend and will be looking to use his experience at the race to guide the riders through the various cobbled sectors.
Ahead of the race on Saturday, which will be the fourth edition of the women’s race, Zoe Bäckstedt said in an interview with Road.cc that “it’s Roubaix! Because it’s a new event on the calendar, everyone wants to win it, as much as they can”.
The 19-year-old Welsh rider is tempering her expectations for this year’s edition, but makes no secrets about this being her dream race to win, as he said “I hope to win it one day, for sure. Absolutely. It’s everyone’s dream race to win. One day. Give me a year or two, maybe a little bit more”.
On her expectations for this year’s Hell of the North, she said “You never know what the conditions are going to be like. We’ve done a couple of recons and it’s been quite wet on the cobbles. And when I say quite wet, I mean puddles everywhere, to the point where you couldn’t even see where the cobbles were anymore, so you’re just riding and hoping you don’t fall off. It’s just the unknown, it could rain the day before, it could rain the morning of, changing what you thought the conditions were completely”.
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- wtf dudemij07-11-2026
- big rival … ridiculous.Ketterechts07-11-2026
- It would be great if the World Champion's jersey could be rotated among McNulty, Simmons, and Jorgenson. They threaded the needle perfectly. If each hadn't done exactly what he did, exactly when he did it, the race would have gone to one of the more heralded superstars. That said, how nice that this humble and hardworking guy gets his moment in the sun.
MarkFour07-11-2026 - This is a really interesting idea, which, if well prepared could even be very successful. Very little money needs to be involved for a first season and any success could lead to rapid interest from sponsors.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Hmmm, you seem to have a very convenient black and white view of things. Perhaps you haven’t been around much to discover how complex problems can become over time with people who know how to control, manipulate (or worse) others so gradually or subtly that you arrive at an irresolvable situation before you realise. This is how many inconveniences get introduced to the young, naïve, passionate or “desperate”, knowing they are not armed, protected or strong enough to defend themselves once it’s too late. Why do you think omerta culture is so widespread, why do you think so many people continue to go through so many awful things in life that others can’t understand anyone getting into? Life may be far more jolly for you but you would do well to understand (or reflect more on) the real world to refrain from being so quick to criticise those in a hard spot that may have genuine reason for speaking out.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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The best race of the season incoming 😍🪨🚴♀️
Roubaix ready! Our squad for Saturday's #ParisRoubaixFemmes avec @GoZwift. More from Tiffany, Zoe and Elise, and where to watch it ⤵️ wmncycling.com/roubaix-2024/
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