Zoe Backstedt hopes "to combine cyclo-cross and road racing" in 2023

Zoe Backstedt hopes to combine cyclocross with road racing next season. She will race for EF Education-TIBCO-SVB at the WorldTour level alongside some of the best riders in the world.

Backstedt won the time trial and World Championship in the Junior category, but she faces big challenges now that she's moving into the U23 ranks. She hopes her first year as a professional will help her improve cyclocross also. “I’d like to combine cyclo-cross and road racing. I really enjoy cyclo-cross, and it’s really good for my technical skills, and you can see that when I race on the road," said Backstedt.

She explains her strategy, “When I race on the road, you can see the difference in the endurance when you go back into cyclocross. When you go into the longer cyclo-cross races of one hour, you’ve got the endurance to do that extra 10 minutes full-gas.”

For the time being, Backstedt is going to focus on finding her place in the team. She does not see herself climbing to the top of the podium anytime soon. “My aim is Just to help the team and try and get some results. Also developing myself as a rider. I don’t see myself going for wins quite yet. It’s going to be quite a big step from junior into the WorldTour ranks,” Backstedt explained.

Backstedt also shared her experience of European Cyclocross Championship. “I felt really good on the bike. I was catching a lot of people on the climb which was actually my strongest point of the day for some reason. It’s never usually my most vital point but I felt that I could punch really hard up it. I’m happy with that, it was an interesting race but fifth is pretty good,” concluded Backstedt.