“I'm still a bit cold, but in ten minutes I'll be over the moon" - Zoe Bäckstedt backs up Saturday win with World Cup podium on Sunday

Zoe Bäckstedt took a fabulous victory on Saturday afternoon in Gullegem and arguably as equally impressively, the 19-year-old backed it up on Sunday at the UCI World Cup in Zonhoven with a podium finish. 

“I'm still a bit cold, but in ten minutes I'll be over the moon," reacted Backstedt in her post-race interview, having finished third behind Puck Pieterse and Inge van der Heijden. "Fortunately, my body warmed up quickly during the race. I don't think I could have won today."

Early in the race, Lucinda Brand was the clear leader. "Lucinda flew over the sand, she went really fast," Backstedt reflects. Sadly for Brand though, a hard crash took her out of the race. “I'm happy that I finished third, but fourth would have been good too. Unfortunately, Lucinda fell."

Finally, the Welsh teen admitted her surprise at such a positive showing in the sand. “Normally I'm not good at that, because I only train specifically for it for sand competitions. It was a double weekend for me without expectations, but I am happy with it,” concludes Backstedt.