BÄCKSTEDT BAGS TWO VICTORIES ON BALOISE DOUBLE DAY!

Zoe Bäckstedt pulled off a remarkable feat on Saturday’s double-stage day at the Baloise Ladies Tour, claiming standout victories in both the 87km morning road race and the 10km evening time trial.

The five-day stage race, mostly in Belgium, is well-known for featuring a demanding double day. It’s a mentally and physically challenging design, especially by stage four of an intense tour, but Zoe has been looking more than ready for the challenge.

Her two contrasting but equally scintillating Saturday performances came off the back of a win in Wednesday’s opening prologue, bringing her Baloise tally to a terrific three. Even more significantly, her stage 3A victory marked the first professional road racing win of her career – a milestone she reflected on:

“It feels amazing! It’s been some time coming to cross the finish line first in a road race, but I’m so happy the day finally came!”

Zoe has now doubled her total of professional individual time trial wins to four, adding to her previous victories at the WorldTour-level Simac Ladies Tour in October 2024 and, more recently, a commanding ride at the British Elite Time Trial National Championships. The British bands seem to be bringing extra speed, helping her fly through both solo efforts at Baloise.

Rewinding to the morning, the stage featured several circuit variations around the East Flandrien town of Maldegem and was fiercely fought. Strong winds whipped across the course, causing the peloton to splinter inside the final 20km. Zoe remained in the front group alongside Chiara Consonni, while Nastya Kolesava was part of a chasing bunch that almost made contact on multiple occasions. But, the tempo up front stayed just high enough to keep them at a gap.

Even with less than 5km to go, Zoe was riding on the front, shepherding Chiara and burning matches – not your typical preparation for a late-stage winning move! But, with just over 2km remaining, a strong attack from Vigie (TVL) sparked action. Zoe immediately bridged across to the French rider before powering straight past and launching her own bid for victory.

Zoe revealed what prompted her to make the move:

“I saw one of the Visma riders having a gap through a U-turn on the course, so I decided it was now or never. Firstly, to make it a sprint for Chiara by pulling the rider back, but I also knew that I could have a chance of staying away!”

Behind, Schreiber (SDW) put in a huge dig to bridge across to Zoe. The pair, who are also close rivals on the cyclo-cross circuit, put their heads down and went all-in to hold off a fast-closing peloton, where Chiara was ready to pounce if it all came back together. With 300 metres to go, Schreiber took the front, giving Zoe just enough of a breather before she needing to unleash her powerful sprint. There was no response from her breakaway and off-road companion, and the peloton never quite got back on terms.

Zoe shared what was going through her mind in those final moments:

“The last 300m… a blur from the heat, the tiredness, just everything… but I knew I had to give it all I had to try stay away from the storming peloton behind!”

The stage 3A road race wrapped up at 13:08, and as soon as the finish line was crossed, the recovery window opened and the countdown to the evening time trial began. The first rider rolled down the ramp at 17:30, with Zoe not scheduled to start until 19:33.

When she eventually crossed the line just 13 minutes and 23 seconds later, averaging 46.5kph, she dipped under the time of van Dijk (LTK) by four seconds. Van Dijk, a formidable time trial specialist with multiple World and European titles to her name, was always going to be a strong stage and GC rival. With only two riders left to finish, GC leader Kool (TPP) and third-placed Veenhoven (TVL), it was looking very promising for Zoe.

Kool and Veenhoven would both finish 36 and 37 seconds slower, sealing not only Zoe’s third stage win of the week but also propelling her into the overall lead. She had started the TT with a two-second deficit to Kool, but now, she’s on top. Last but not least, she jumped three places in the points classification to take the lead there too, meaning she currently holds all three individual jerseys of the tour.

Tomorrow’s final stage is set to be a big one. The GC lead is up for grabs, and the peloton will tackle five laps of squiggly, tricky Belgian roads, totalling 127km with 923m of elevation gain on gently undulating terrain. The racing will no doubt be intense, demanding and fiercely contested – it’s the last chance to shake up the standings or to achieve stage success. With mildly threatening wind levels, the potential for splits in the crosswinds adds another layer of unpredictability – it’s not over until it’s over!

Zoe now holds a 12-second buffer to van Dijk in second, with 32 secs separating the top five. Can she add a GC victory to her trio of stage wins?

HOW TO FOLLOW

Stage 4 | Sunday, July 20 | Zwevegem – Zwevegem | 127.2km | 923m elevation | Start: 14:00 – Fastest finish: 17:34 CET. LIVE from 15:45.

Live coverage is available on Eurosport, Discovery Plus, TNT Sports and the Pickx livestream. Stay updated on X with #BaloiseLT25, and follow CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto’s social channels for the latest team news.