Cyclo-cross World Championships: Zoe Bäckstedt lives up to the billing and defends women’s U23 title
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Zoe Bäckstedt Great Britain) soaked up the pressure and overcame a last-lap slip to defend her under-23 women’s Cyclo-cross World Championships crown in Liévin.
Bäckstedt stayed ahead of Marie Schreiber (Luxembourg), who made a late charge and finished second, while Leonie Bentveld (Netherlands) took bronze.
The British rider came into the event as a firm favourite but crashed heavily on the opening lap on a slippery descent. However, after changing onto a bike with lower tyre pressure, she charged through the mud and pulled out a sizeable advantage.
After recovering from a heavy crash last weekend Schreiber provided the challenge for the British star. However, a series of errors on one technical section cost her, and she was distanced in second place.
The race was not over, though, and a slip on the final lap by Bäckstedt allowed her opponent to come fighting back within 16 seconds. However, Bäckstedt was not to be denied and powered through the final gap to take victory 39 seconds ahead of Schreiber.
Meanwhile, Bentveld finished in bronze after battling past quick starter Célia Gery (France).
“It hasn’t been the smoothest of seasons, but the last few races boosted my confidence,” said Backstedt. “Coming into this one, I had the fire for it. I’m happy to come out on top.
“The first lap wasn’t so smooth for me … a little bit of panic in the end. It was completely opposite conditions to the recon and just adrenaline from the start of the world championships. I slipped on one of the corners and wiped out, so I was further behind. I managed to reset myself and come back to the front.
“I wanted to drop the tyre pressure a little bit to see what it was like; I thought it would help. Once that happened and I was on that lower pressure I felt a lot more comfortable.
“It was a challenging course, different to what I thought it would be like, and it was a lot more slippery, even the flat corners; it was super-easy to wipe out in places. I was still having to push all the way to the line, and it made for an interesting race.”