BÄCKSTEDT RETURNS TO DEFEND BALOISE TITLE AS DOUBLE BRITISH CHAMPION

The 2025 Baloise Ladies Tour yielded an impressive collection of milestones for Zoe Bäckstedt. On her way to a maiden professional general classification (GC) victory and becoming the youngest winner in the race’s 10-year history, Zoe claimed three stage victories – including two on the same day – with one signifying the first professional road race win of her career. She also secured the youth classification and finished second in the points competition.

Last year’s success wasn’t entirely expected, but neither was it a surprise. Twelve months on, Zoe returns to the race where so many accolades came bundled together, with strong momentum and a palmarès richer than ever before.

In the last month alone, she achieved a sensational maiden WorldTour road race victory at the Tour de Suisse Women before finishing runner-up in the time trial stage to the reigning world and European champion. One week later, she successfully defended her British elite time trial title before producing one of the most remarkable rides of her career – the stuff of cycling legend – overturning a six-minute deficit to snatch the British elite road race crown.

Zoe arrives at this year’s Baloise Ladies Tour brimming with confidence, exceptional form and with one more national champion’s jersey in her suitcase. Alongside Wilma Aintila, Tiffany Cromwell, the new Portuguese road race champion Maria Martins, Joëlle Messemer and Maike van der Duin, she’ll be looking to recreate last year’s success against another competitive start list.

“⁠I’m excited to return – Baloise wasn’t originally on my calendar but I’m super happy it’s been added! I feel ready; I’ve had a few good races recently and I’m hoping to continue this trend at Baloise, and I genuinely can’t wait to do the first race in the national stripes! After wearing the jersey in time trials this past year, it’s going to be so nice to wear it across both disciplines. A successful race would be a strong week with the team, and I’d love to try and win the time trial towards the end of the week – it’s my favourite part of the tour. You can also class the prologue as a time trial, so both of those days will be super fun!”

The five days of Baloise Ladies Tour consistently attracts a versatile field of sprinters, classics specialists, time triallists and all-rounders. Like last year, the route features two individual time trials alongside four fast, aggressive road stages on characteristically cutthroat, technical Belgian roads. As the cycling season moves further into summer, Baloise provides a welcome contrast to a calendar increasingly dominated by climbing-heavy stage races, while also serving as ideal race preparation for the classics-oriented riders ahead of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

Wednesday serves up a spicy evening entrée in the Netherlands: a 4km square-shaped prologue from the rural roads surrounding IJzendijke to the town’s Markt Square, with seven relatively gentle bends to negotiate along the way.

Thursday marks the first full road stage – a modest 113km on the twisting, coast-adjacent roads that have become synonymous with the Baloise Ladies Tour and the Tour of Bruges. Much like last year’s opening road stage, the key factors are likely to be crosswinds, an abundance of road furniture, and the punchy beachside esplanade ramp that once again characterises the final 50m.

Stage two follows a familiar formula, returning to roads more commonly associated with the spring classics. A 45km middle phase between Waregem and Oudenaarde features a scattering of cobbles, punchy bergs and meandering Flemish lanes, injecting another layer of unpredictability before the circuit-based finale.

As tradition dictates, day three is split into two – and with it, opinions. Some riders relish the double shift, while others are pleased just to get through it. Unlike previous editions, however, the order has been reversed. An 8km individual time trial opens the day before the riders line up again in the evening for a largely flat 107km circuit race over four laps, with both stages taking place within touching distance of the Dutch Limburg region.

The race concludes on Sunday with six laps of another flat and fast circuit in Mechelen, nestled between Brussels and Antwerp, providing another opportunity for the sprinters in a race that consistently favours their skillset, while also settling the final GC.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Prologue – Baloise Ladies Tour | UCI 2.1 | Wed, July 15 | Ijzendijke | 3.9km (TT) | 4m | from 18:00 CET | Live 19:00 on Pickx.

Stage 1 | Thu, July 16 | Ostend – Knokke-Heist | 113km | 210m | 13:45 CET | Live 15:00.

Stage 2 | Fri, July 17 | Zulte | 129.5km | 648m | 13:30 CET | Live 15:00.

Stage 3a | Sat, July 18 | Maaseik | 8.3km (TT) | 13m | from 11:00 CET | Live 12:15.

Stage 3b | Sat, July 18 | Maaseik | 106km | 267m | 17:00 CET | Live 18:00.

Stage 4 | Sun, July 19 | Mechelen | 111.8km | 232m | 14:00 CET | Live 15:00.

Watch every stage live on Pickx Proximus. Stay updated on X with #BaloiseLT26 and #BLT26, and follow CANYON//SRAM social channels for the latest team updates.