Zoe Backstedt exclusive: ‘It feels a bit strange’ moving to Belgium and first season on the WorldTour

Zoe Backstedt has admitted “it feels a bit strange” to have moved to Belgium at 18 years old as she continues to learn on the WorldTour.

Backstedt is one of the most exciting young talents in cycling, having won three world titles across three different disciplines in 2022 – cyclo-cross, track and road.

She is currently riding for EF Education-Tibco-SVB and lives in Waregem, an area in Belgium where other cyclists are based.

“You don’t expect to fully move out of the house at 18. It’s what I want to be doing, it’s where I need to be. I made the decision because if you’re not in Belgium for cyclo-cross, it’s impossible.

“The environment of home I’ll miss a little bit. My friends all live within three minutes of each other so it’s perfect.

“We meet at the middle house and everything is good. I’ll miss them, my family, my grandparents.”

Backstedt says she has a desire to win every race she appears in, and she is expected to compete at the UCI World Championships on August 3-13 in Scotland.

Her family have a strong history in cycling, with Backstedt’s mother a former cyclist for Wales and father Magnus Backstedt a Paris-Roubaix winner.

Magnus was commentating for Eurosport in 2021 when he watched his daughter win the 2021 junior road race gold and emphasised the importance of Zoe enjoying her cycling.

“Over the years, we’ve seen with Zoe that having fun is the key to everything,” he said. “When she has fun, she’s switched on, she’s sharp, she’s always active.

“They go hand-in-hand – her performance and the fun factor. The higher the fun, the higher the performance.

“To spend this time with your kids, you never get that time back. To have that last winter, we spent so much time together to have that time and connection, it means so much to me.”

– – –