HARD-EARNED TOP 10, 2ND U23 FOR ZOE IN ZONHOVEN

A tenacious tenth place was the best that Zoe Bäckstedt could claw back in a tough outing at round nine of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Zonhoven – a brutal, iconic sand-fest often dubbed the monument of CX.

Zoe arrived in Zonhoven with strong credentials, having finished third at the race in 2024 and runner-up last season. This time around, she was hindered early and unable to regain lost ground on a course that demands constant focus and exceptional skill from start to finish.

Nevertheless, a satisfied and upbeat Zoe took to the podium in her U23 World Champion rainbow jersey, finishing 2nd in the U23 classification, 21 seconds behind Leonie Bentveld. Reflecting on the day, she said:

“⁠⁠I’m really happy with today’s result – 17 places higher than the last World Cup [Dendermonde, December 28] and in general, just a really good feeling on the bike.”

At the start, temperatures hovered around zero degrees, although the real feel was even more biting. Snow had fallen in the days leading up to the race and a thick layer remained in place, adding a unique dimension to this year’s edition. The conditions did little to deter the huge crowds, who lined the savagely steep climbs and daredevil descents, creating an atmosphere more akin to a festival than a bike race.

The first encounter with the course’s trademark obstacle – the intimidating, sandy descent of De Kuil – came just 1:35 minutes into the race, making a strong start even more critical than usual.

Zoe arrived among the front wheels, but misfortune struck early when a small tussle at the top of the slope forced her to run down through the deeply rutted sand.

“It started super well entering De Kuil in the top 10 but a rider crashed in front of me and I had nowhere to go – my shifters got caught up in her bike so I was stuck for a bit! But after that, the chase was on and I could start pushing hard to try and gain back some positions!”

After a frantic opening 3.2-kilometre lap, the race was already obliterated into individual efforts as riders searched for composure and rhythm. Pieterse led the way through in 8:38 mins, while Zoe rounded out the top ten at 44 seconds down. Muddy, thawed single-track snaked through piled snow, making overtaking either near-impossible or wildly inefficient for much of the course.

Zoe continued to grind away over the relentless terrain, largely dominated by various forms of sand – iced over, compacted, or heavily churned. After two laps, she had moved up to 7th at 49 secs. Lap three proved particularly challenging, seeing her slip back to 14th at 1:34 mins. Zoe ultimately crossed the line in 10th place, 2:42 mins down on impressive victor Alvarado.

After an intense post-injury return with five races in the space of just of 8 days, Zoe will look to consolidate progress before her 2025/2026 cyclo-cross season resumes on January 18 in Benidorm, Spain. There, starkly contrasting conditions are almost guaranteed. 

“The overall feeling is that I’ve had a good start back to cyclo-cross; for sure, there were some setbacks in there, but that’s part of coming back from injury!”

“For now, I’ll have a few days in Belgium and then head to Spain for a training camp with the team, including a small pit stop in Benidorm for the next World Cup!”