Zoe Bäckstedt flies to sixth world title

The 19-year-old dominated the under-23 race at the Cyclo-cross World Championships last weekend

- Adam Becket

Zoe Bäckstedt led Great Britain’s medal haul at the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Tábor last weekend, winning the under-23 race to take her sixth world title, at just 19.

The Welshwoman dominated on a muddy track in the Czech Republic, taking the lead on the opening lap and holding it until the line, eventually winning by 44 seconds. The under-23 CX rainbow bands followed her junior CX, road, time trial and track wins.

Despite the pressure on her young shoulders – she was the overwhelming favourite coming into the weekend – the Canyon-SR AM rider described the race as “so much fun”.

“I’m over the moon,” Bäckstedt said. “I was a little nervous coming into this one. It has been a really good season and I just wanted to top it off with this.

“I’m so glad that I could do it. I’m head to toe in mud... there were points where you were almost stopping on the course due to the mud. It made it so much fun.”