"I'm covered in mud from head to toe, that's what I like" - Zoe Backstedt thrives in Gullegem mud-fest

In a mud-fest of a course in Gullegem on Saturday afternoon, 19-year-old Zoe Backstedt was in her element, thriving to take a relatively comfortable victory by more than 30 seconds.

"I really enjoyed it. This was probably one of the nicest races I have ridden,” beamed Backstedt in her post-race interview. "Why? I'm covered in mud from head to toe, that's what I like. In addition, I was at the front of the race. It was a fierce battle, with someone else always taking the lead. I decided to attack with two laps to go and see how far I could get.”

Although outnumbered by a trio of Crelan-Corendon rivals, Manon Bakker, Inge van der Heijden and Marion Norbert Riberolle, Backstedt managed to overcome the odds and take just the seventh win of her budding career.

“Manon looked at her pedals, while I was already clicked in. I thought, what if she's not looking, what happens? I went for it, looked back at the end of the straight line and saw that I had a gap. After that, I just tried not to make a mistake. It turned out well. My legs felt good. Pretty cool,” concludes the teen.