{"id":844400,"date":"2026-08-03T13:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T13:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/844400\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T13:05:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T13:05:18","slug":"tour-de-france-femmes-welsh-cyclist-zoe-backstedt-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/844400\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour de France Femmes: Welsh cyclist Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt facts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The next chapter in Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt<\/a>‘s career begins at the Tour de France Femmes<\/a> avec Zwift. Taking part in cycling’s biggest race for the first time, there’s no better time to explore five things you need to know about the Welsh cycling sensation. <\/p>\n

01<\/p>\n

Born into a family of cyclists <\/p>\n

It was perhaps inevitable that B\u00e4ckstedt would enter the world of cycling given that both of her parents boast glittering pro cycling careers in their own right. <\/p>\n

\"British<\/a><\/p>\n

B\u00e4ckstedt’s parents both had successful cycling careers of their own<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Luc Claessen\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Her mother, Megan Hughes, won the 1998 British national road race championships in dominant fashion and took fifth place in the points race at the Commonwealth Games in the same year. Despite cutting her pro cycling career short after starting a family, Hughes passed more than just her natural talent for cycling on to her daughters. \u201cSometimes Zoe and I can be a bit similar,” Megan said in 2023<\/a>. “She\u2019s very much like I was when racing: grumpy before races. Well, it\u2019s just nerves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zoe’s father, Magnus B\u00e4ckstedt, is perhaps best known for his emphatic victory at the 2004 edition of Paris-Roubaix and for a stage win at the 1998 Tour de France. He was a professional rider from 1996 to 2013. Standing at 194cm, \u2018Big Maggie\u2019 was a master tactician; a trait he\u2019s used to help Zoe throughout her young career.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing to races when I was younger, they\u2019d always help me with little tactical decisions,” B\u00e4ckstedt told CyclingNews in 2023<\/a>. “I remember going into a track Elimination Race with my dad on the sideline pointing out ten fingers \u2013 ten riders left \u2013 so I knew without having to look behind me.\u201dRacing in the Women\u2019s World Tour alongside Zoe is her elder sister Elynor. Currently riding for UAE Team L\u2019IMAD, the 24-year-old turned professional in 2020 and has kept watch over her sister as she has worked her way up through the pro cycling ranks. \u201cShe\u2019s still there for me even though we\u2019re on different teams, so it\u2019s really nice,” said Elynor.<\/a><\/p>\n

02<\/p>\n

B\u00e4ckstedt is already a nine-time World Champion\"Zoe<\/a><\/p>\n

B\u00e4ckstedt is already a nine-time world champion<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Leo Francis\/Red\u00a0Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n

B\u00e4ckstedt’s relative youth belies her achievements in the sport already. Across road, cyclocross, and track, she boasts nine world championship titles at junior and under-23 level.<\/p>\n

Throw in six additional European titles and nine further national championship victories, and the level of her talent becomes even more staggering. To be able to perform across so many disciplines in such dominant fashion clearly displays B\u00e4ckstedt\u2019s potential as a true world beater. <\/p>\n

Still only 21, it\u2019s safe to say she has a glittering career ahead of her, and diversifying her disciplines is a surefire way to ensure she keeps enjoying racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never get bored of riding because you\u2019re always doing something different,” she said in an interview with Eurosport.<\/a> “During the week when I go out training, I\u2019ll be on the MTB, the cross bike, I\u2019ll go out on the road bike, I\u2019ll do a gravel ride, you name it, I\u2019m basically doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

B\u00e4ckstedt’s nine world title <\/p>\n

\"Zoe<\/a><\/p>\n

Zoe Backstedt powers to 2024 UCI CX World Championship victory<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Kristof Ramon\/Red\u00a0Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n

2021 Junior Road Race<\/p>\n

2022 Junior Road Race<\/p>\n

2022 Junior Time Trial<\/p>\n

2025 U23 Time Trial<\/p>\n

2022 Junior Cyclocross World Championships<\/p>\n

2024 U23 Cyclocross World Championships<\/p>\n

2025 U23 Cyclocross World Championships<\/p>\n

2025 Cyclocross Mixed Relay<\/p>\n

2022 Madison (Track)<\/p>\n

03<\/p>\n

B\u00e4ckstedt initially exclled in cyclocross B\u00e4ckstedt didn\u2019t burst onto the scene on smooth tarmac roads or the wooden boards of a velodrome, but rather in the muddy fields of Belgian cyclocross. “The dream conditions are two degrees, raining, just like growing up in Wales,” she told the BBC<\/a>. <\/p>\n

First racing with the Elites in the winter of 2020 – making her debut just a few days after she turned 16 – B\u00e4ckstedt has racked up some incredible results. Racing up to 26 races each season, she has become a force to be reckoned with; often finishing on the podium of Elite-level World Cups, despite still being an under-23.<\/p>\n

\"Zoe<\/a><\/p>\n

B\u00e4ckstedt enjoyed huge success in cyclocross as a junior and in the U23s<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Kristof Ramon\/Red\u00a0Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n

I\u2019d say I\u2019m probably a classics-type rider. I\u2019m good on short, sharp climbs. Something that\u2019s 30 seconds to one minute max<\/p>\n

In fact, in 2021, B\u00e4ckstedt made history by becoming the youngest-ever winner of an Elite Belgian cyclocross race when she took the victory in Essen at just 17 years and 78 days old.<\/p>\n

Cyclocross necessitates a combination of explosive power, skill, and grit, which often makes CX riders some of the best classics racers in the peloton. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say I\u2019m probably a classics-type rider,” explains B\u00e4ckstedt<\/a>. “I\u2019m good on short, sharp climbs. Something that\u2019s 30 seconds to one minute max. I\u2019m quite punchy, I guess from my cyclocross background. I have quite a lot of skill when it comes to cornering or riding in small gaps and navigating the bunch, and I have a good kick on me.\u201dWe\u2019ve seen many riders successfully transition from Cyclocross to road – the likes of Tom Pidcock<\/a>, Wout van Aert<\/a> and Blanka Kata Vas <\/a>to name just a few – and B\u00e4ckstedt looks like she\u2019s going to be the next rider to add her name to the list of CX superstars turned road cycling royalty.<\/p>\n

04<\/p>\n

Chasing medals in the world’s most prestigious events\"Zoe<\/a><\/p>\n

B\u00e4ckstedt (far left) is making her Tour de France Femmes debut<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Tim de Waele\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Even though her trophy cabinet is bursting at the seams, B\u00e4ckstedt is hungry for more success and is targeting victories in some of the world’s most prestigious events. <\/p>\n

“If I hadn\u2019t been sick in 2024, I would have liked to have also been on the start line in Paris, it just wasn\u2019t my year,” she told the BBC<\/a>. “That was hard to accept but it just made me hungrier to be on the start line in the future.”<\/p>\n

Perhaps B\u00e4ckstedt\u2019s lust for glory stems from her proximity to past Olympic champions when she was growing up in Cardiff. As a young rider, she could often be found training at the iconic Maindy Velodrome – proving ground for the likes of Geraint Thomas and Elinor Barker – both multi-time Olympic medallists. <\/p>\n

“It’s something cool to see, coming from the same club you are, riding circles around Maindy Velodrome and you’re like ‘Yeah, if she can do it, I can do it, maybe I can follow in those footsteps’,” said B\u00e4ckstedt<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019d love to go to the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, basically any big event you can name,” she said<\/a>. “I\u2019d like to be there, win it, podium, whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

05<\/p>\n

Early success means the future looks bright <\/p>\n

When you look at her achievements, it’s easy to forget just how young B\u00e4ckstedt still is. Although she\u2019s been racing in the Women\u2019s WorldTour since 2023, success at the top level eluded her for a while.<\/p>\n

Making her WorldTour debut at the 2023 Omloop Nieuwsblad before cutting her teeth with a full Spring classics campaign, B\u00e4ckstedt herself said that winning a race in her debut season would be \u201cvirtually impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cyclist<\/a><\/p>\n

Could a Tour de France Femmes stage win be in Backstedt’s future? <\/p>\n

\u00a9 Leo Francis\/Red\u00a0Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n

However, just six weeks later, she saw firsthand what success in the biggest races looks like when her EF Education-TIBCO-SVB team-mate, Alison Jackson, won the iconic Paris-Roubaix Femmes. <\/p>\n

\u201cI looked up to the TV as I came into the velodrome and saw her sprinting\u2026I kept watching and then she started celebrating. I went half a lap thinking, \u2018Did she actually do it or not? What\u2019s going on?\u2019 Then I saw my soigneur and she was just screaming at me; then I realised and I started to scream,” she said in a 2023 interview<\/a>. “I did that lap so hard to get back to see her, it was the best thing ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each season since has seen steady improvement from B\u00e4ckstedt, with 2026 proving to be somewhat of a breakthrough, with top-five finishes in Dwars Door Vlaanderen and the Tour of Flanders.<\/p>\n

This progression year on year shows that B\u00e4ckstedt isn\u2019t just a talented Junior or under-23 who will get lost in the elite ranks; instead, she has all the ingredients to become one of the defining names of her generation.<\/p>\n

Her debut at the Tour de France Femmes is an exciting step for B\u00e4ckstedt, and with her eyes set on the individual time trial on stage four, she could become a Tour de France Femmes stage winner at her first time of asking.<\/p>\n

Who is Ollie Smith?<\/p>\n

Ollie Smith is a freelance contributor for RedBull.com based in Bristol in the South West of the UK. A lifelong bike rider and keen amateur racer, Ollie lives and breathes cycling, and has written for publications like CyclingNews, BikeRadar, and also works as a producer on the Life In The Peloton podcast.<\/p>\n

Part of this story<\/p>\n

\"\"Zoe B\u00e4ckstedtA junior world champion in road and a two-time cyclocross U23 champ, British rider Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt is earmarked as a star of the future. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The next chapter in Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt‘s career begins at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Taking part…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":844401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-844400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=844400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/844401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=844400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=844400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=844400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}