"In my head it was: gold or I'm having a bad day" - Zoe Bäckstedt stamps authority with European Championships victory

Great Britain is looking to headline once again Cyclocross and Zoe Bäckstedt is another of it's big weapons. The 19-year old put on a dominant performance to win the women's under-23 title at the European Championships.

"It wasn't my intention to ride off on my own after two laps. The plan was to just stay in Marie [Schreiber]'s wheel and only leave when she was absolutely dead," Bäckstedt said in a post-race interview. "So I left much earlier than expected, although I felt very strong. It really was a course for the powerhouses, so that suits me. In that respect, I would like to thank the organization for planning this race."

It was a comfortable win. Baring disaster, the supertalent was going to be heading towards a victory, not unexpected as she was the main favourite. "In my head it was: gold or I'm having a bad day," she stated. "It was a good day, because I walk away with the jersey in a strong under 23 field. A podium finish would also have been great, but I always have high ambitions."

She won't wear this jersey often as she competes among the Elites, but the title is in her palmarès. She reveals some of the plans for the upcoming months: "I do the entire cross-season, but plan some training camps in between. I will miss some racing before the Christmas period, but I will continue from Christmas until the World Championships. I'm going to fight for the U23 World Cup jersey. I can still improve, so we'll see how I perform after training camp."

At a very young age, she is being compared to other rising - and already dominating - talents Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse who thrive over multiple disciplines. Bäckstedt doesn't think she is already capable of beating the Dutch duo, but will in the coming years reach that level.

"I need age, to race a little longer. I'm only nineteen years old, so I have time to get there and hopefully win against Fem and Puck and all the others. That's the goal, but give me one more season and then we'll see what happens," she concluded.