BÄCKSTEDT BEST OF THE BUNCH IN DWARS DOOR VLAANDEREN

In an attritional Dwars door Vlaanderen where legs did most of the talking, Zoe Bäckstedt delivered a strong, composed performance throughout. She powered her way into the final ~25-rider selection and ultimately won the bunch sprint for fourth, 7 seconds behind a trio of escapees.

Reflecting on how the first two riders got away and on her own race, Zoe said:

“They were just super strong on the climbs. I’d already been a few moments just behind the group, and after chasing back on over the top of the climb, I was just feeling it a little bit in my legs. But for sure, in the end, I’m happy with the result, to get the chance to try out my sprint against some big names – that was super cool.”

For Zoe, who lined up in her third edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen, the event holds special significance; both the start and finish lie within a 1km radius of her Belgian residence, an area she proudly calls home. From her local neighbourhood, the 128km parcours snaked across the lumpy Flandrien landscape, featuring a varied mix of six cobbled sectors and eight climbs, some overlapping in classic Flemish fashion.

Often described as a ‘mini Ronde van Vlaanderen’, the race drew a stacked field just five days before Belgium’s pinnacle event. It was fiercely contested from early on, with big names launching aggressive moves with than 70km to go. But, it was on the cobbled Eikenberg (1.2km at 5%, max 10.5%) where the race truly split to bits, fracturing an already under-pressure peloton inside the final 40km.

The front few groups came back together, and Zoe found herself as the team’s sole representative at the head of the race. After two further demanding cobbled sectors, a reduced peloton consolidated with around 25km to go. Soon after, Reusser (MOV) and Vollering (TFS) edged clear, hovering just ahead of the bunch, often by no more than 15 seconds.

Throughout this phase, Zoe rode with patience and control – burying herself to remain at the front while choosing to follow moves rather than force them.

“Up the Eikenberg, it was just all out. A group of four went away going into Oudenaarde, and UAE worked full gas to bring them back. I just sat in, following the wheels for a bit. Coming up over the cobbled Nokereberg [22km remaining], they were going really hard and I thought, ‘yeah, why not follow?’ I was in the wheel of Lotte [Kopecky] and I felt super strong. Again, as predicted on the tarmac side of Nokereberg [10km remaining], it was super hard, as it always is, but I just hung onto the wheels and UAE were still working to try and bring the two leaders back. In the end, they didn’t have the result that they wanted from that.”

The leading duo held firm out front, despite a sometimes fragile advantage and doubtful cooperation. Behind, it looked set to come down to a sprint for third; that was until a bold move from Nooijen (TVL) inside the final kilometre. Her attack stuck, and she bridged across to the leaders to fight for the final podium position.

A handful of seconds behind, Zoe zoomed through the last corner within a group of top sprint contenders. Unfazed, she committed early, launching a long, powerful effort and holding it all the way to the line to take fourth.

“I just sat in the wheel of Kopecky [SDW], Ferguson [MOV] and Kool [FPC] coming into the final and launched literally from the corner with over 250m to go, so it was a super long sprint. I just thought ‘I have to give it everything and go for the line’. If it meant I got fourth, like I did, or 20th, then I’d still be happy that I tried something.”

“I was standing, seated, then standing again, but just trying to get the most out of my legs at the very end of a tough race. Credits to the Visma rider who went with 600m to go – I thought ‘oooo, maybe I can follow’ but then I was quickly like ‘oh no, I don’t think I can’.”

After getting the better of the other fast legs around her in the 300m finishing straight, Zoe was “one-hundred percent” convinced that her measured, energy-saving approach in the final 40km was the right one.

“If I’d have done something and jumped across to Marlen [Reusser] and Demi [Vollering] when they were away, then I also would have to do a sprint against them, and maybe I could have gotten third, but I’m also happy that I tried for the bunch finish. I don’t have so many opportunities to do a sprint because we have Chiara [Consonni], and I really enjoy doing a lead-out for her, but it’s always nice to do a sprint for myself and to see how my sprint legs actually are.”

All in all, it was a happy Zoe at the finish; greeted by family and friends, and able to walk just a short distance back to the comfort of home after a big day out on the Flemish roads.

Next up, the big one awaits – Ronde van Vlaanderen on Sunday, April 5 for the CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto WorldTeam. One day earlier, Team Generation race the NXT Classic near Maastricht, The Netherlands. Rosters for both will follow in the coming days.