After valiantly defending her U23 Cyclo-cross World title in Liévin, France, on February 1st, Zoe Bäckstedt begins her 2025 road season with CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto at Omloop van het Hageland.

Zoe will form part of a strong seven-rider roster, which includes five Omloop Nieuwsblad starters from the day before: Chiara Consonni, Tiffany Cromwell, Alice Towers, Maike van der Duin, and Soraya Paladin. Nastya Kolesava also comes in fresh to complete the squad.

Taking time to soak in her success from both the World Championships and a consistently strong cyclo-cross season, Zoe enjoyed a week off from training, relishing the opportunity to do “normal person stuff”. Now back in full training, she goes into Hageland with renewed focus and enthusiasm.

“My thoughts heading into the first race of the season are purely to see how I’m feeling on the bike and in the peloton. It’s been a while since I’ve ridden in a full peloton due to my sickness last year, but I’m looking forward to it!”

After a 2.5-month halt to her racing plans in 2024, Zoe came back for the twilight of the season, impressively scoring her first WorldTour win and finishing third in the general classification at the Simac Ladies Tour. While this ending was a nice silver lining after a tumultuous year, Zoe is eager to reacquaint herself with the earlier races, when motivation within the peloton burns strongest and racing characteristics are more to her liking.

“Hageland is a good starter for me – it’s not a super long race but not too short either. It offers the perfect combination of climbing and flat (at least that’s my pre-race thought!), and it’s a nice race to get my confidence and feeling back before the WorldTour classics!”

Founded in 2005, Omloop van het Hageland has become a staple of the season, paired with Saturday’s Omloop Nieuwsblad to create the perfect launchpad for the spring classics. Going into 2025 however, the race faced the risk of postponement due to a lack of personnel and the growing demands of race organisation. Against the odds, Hageland has been saved, returning with a 137km route in its typical pocket of the Flemish Brabant region.

This year’s course includes a 40km lead-in to a lap that the peloton will tackle four times, followed by the traditional finish in Tielt-Winge. The lap takes in peaceful countryside and sleepy villages, featuring a mix of short, punchy climbs and longer drags, both on cobbles and classic Belgian concrete-slabbed roads. The final challenge of each lap, Kerkstraat, crests with 5km to go, offering multiple tactical opportunities for a range of rider profiles.

Seven WorldTeams will take the start, with many riders also competing in Omloop Nieuwsblad the day before. Tiffany, while appreciating the idea of a relaxing Sunday, sees the value in backing up the next day.

“The opening classic is always hard on your body, so it’s nice to have an easier Sunday afterwards, but no. I think everyone trains hard enough these days and has the capabilities to back up the day after. It’s a solid two days of racing to get the legs going before the classics really ramp up in the following weeks.”

HOW TO FOLLOW

Omloop van het Hageland | UCI 1.1 | Sunday March 2 | 135.3km | 1133m elevation | Start 13:00 CET – fastest finish 16:40.

The race will be broadcast from 15:00 on Proximus Pickx Showcase and via Facebook livestream. Regional station ROBtv will also provide coverage. Follow the action on X with #Omloopvanhethageland or through the CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto social channels.

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