ZOE BÄCKSTEDT CROWNED U23 TIME TRIAL WORLD CHAMPION!

She went to Kigali, Rwanda, as the overwhelming favourite, and delivered brilliantly under pressure. Riding a victorious wave of momentum since claiming the British Elite National Time Trial title in late June, Zoe Bäckstedt has now added the UCI Under-23 Time Trial World Championship title to her glittering palmarès.

This marks Zoe’s second world crown against the clock, the first coming in the junior category at the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia. Her wardrobe must be overflowing by now – the young Welshwoman has already amassed nine UCI world titles, with rainbow jerseys spanning across road, cyclo-cross and track.

“It’s an incredible feeling. It’s rare that you get to pull on a rainbow jersey, so it means even more to pull on my ninth one now, at this age. At just 20 years old, it’s an incredible feeling, and hopefully there are many more to come in the future,” Zoe reflected.

Even more impressive than the result alone was Zoe’s unsurprising yet still jaw-dropping dominance over the undulating, relentless 22.6km course. As the last rider to start, she overtook the second-seeded competitor, who had begun 90 seconds ahead, before even reaching the 12km timing point atop Côte de Nyanza (2.3km at 5.8%). She passed that split 16 seconds faster than anyone else, and by the second timing point with 4.6km remaining, she was 36 seconds clear of the next best. 

“The first climb was absolutely savage. I think it helped to see that I was catching my rider in front of me already, but at the same time I couldn’t gauge anything off of that. Like, I didn’t know if that meant I was on a good day or she was just on a really bad day, or what it was. So that climb was really tough. And then you just hit the downhill, so it was just trying to get as fast as possible for that sector of the course too,” Zoe explained.

Charging up the brutal, cobbled 2.4km Côte de Kimihurura, where gradients spiked to 11%, Zoe passed the third-seeded rider who had started three minutes ahead. While many rivals crumbled on this savage final climb, Zoe remained untouchable, crossing the line with an extraordinary 1:50 minute advantage over second-place finisher Chladoňová (SVK). Zoe’s average speed on a slower-than-usual course was equally remarkable – a cruisy 43.8kph no less.

Zoe described the whirlwind of emotions as she crossed the finish line.

“It was a feeling of relief, exhaustion, happiness – a little bit of every emotion when I finished. I could hear the announcer when I was crossing the line, but I didn’t know how much I’d won by. The last time check I got was 34 seconds, so I thought, ‘it’s extremely possible that I’ve lost this’ or ‘I’m on the cusp of losing time on the climb’. I had no idea when I crossed the line how much I’d won by, and I had to ask the soigneur at the finish what the time gap was in the end.”

It seemed as if the heat, humidity, altitude, leg-sapping hills, mentally-draining wide roads, and cobbles had no effect on Zoe, although the latter is something she knows all too well. Still, she admits that the race ranks among the most brutal of her already seasoned career.

“I think either this one or Nationals would be my toughest time trial to date. Nationals was a bit hillier, with a really, really steep section that made it super hard. But this course was difficult in different ways – the altitude, the humidity – it was also super, super savage.”

With this triumph, Zoe extends her unbeaten run in time trials to five, having built on that initial national success with two time-trial stage wins at the Baloise Ladies Tour, a repeat victory in the WorldTour Simac Ladies Tour time trial, and now this crowning glory.

Zoe also becomes the first rider recognised as world champion in an U23 time trial held entirely separately from the elite category, following on from trade teammate Antonia Niedermaier, who won the U23 rainbow jersey in 2023 and 2024 when it was awarded within the elite race. With her own rainbow jersey and gold medal safely secured, Zoe has exactly what she came to Rwanda to find and is already heading back to Europe with her sights set on the cyclo-cross season.

Amid the excitement of Zoe’s victory, it’s important not to overlook the strong performance of Justyna Czapla (GER), who finished a fantastic seventh in the same highly competitive, 49-rider U23 field. Interestingly, the gap between second and fifteenth place was smaller than the margin between Zoe and second place. Justyna was 25 seconds shy of a top-five result and will look to rest up ahead of the first-ever U23 women’s road race on Thursday. 

The next CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto riders back on course are those competing in the Mixed Team Relay on Wednesday. Diane Ingabire (RWA), Soraya Paladin (ITA), and Antonia Niedermaier (GER) return after racing in Sunday’s elite women’s time trial, while Florence Nakagwa (UGA) will make her 2025 championship debut.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Mixed Team Relay | Wednesday, Sept 24  | 42.4km | 695m elevation | Start 12:30 CET – finish 17:00 CET.

U23 Women Road Race | Thursday, Sept 25  | 119.3km | 2277m elevation | Start 13:05 CET – fastest finish 16:30 CET.

Elite Women Road Race | Saturday, Sept 27  | 164.6km | 3131m elevation | Start 12:05 CET – fastest finish 16:45 CET.

Live coverage of most events will be available on Eurosport, TNT Sport, Discovery+, FloBikes, the UCI YouTube channel, and many regional broadcasters. Stay updated on X with #Kigali2025, and follow CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto’s social channels for all the latest team news.