"I'm covered in mud from head to toe" - Zoe Bäckstedt over the moon with gold medal in Tabor

Zoe Bäckstedt had a few strong performances throughout the season in the Elites but also tough moments. Hence, it was a difficult mission to win the women's under-23 cyclocross World Championships, but the Briton took the most important victory of the season.

“I'm over the moon. I was quite nervous before the start," Bäckstedt admits. She finished ahead of Kristyna Zemanová and Leonie Bentveld with almost a minute of lead. A result of a strong performance and conditions that were ideal for her skillset, as Tabor was muddy this morning and the climbs were draining,

The Briton put in the ride of the season to conquer the gold medal. It was a weight off her shoulders: “I have had a very good cyclocross season and I wanted to end it today with a world title. I am so happy that we succeeded."

The road season will be important for the 20-year old, but in the meantime she is likely to still aim for results this cyclocross season. “It was a very tough race. I'm covered in mud from head to toe. There were points where you almost came to a standstill. That made it a lot of fun," she concluded.