Zoe Bäckstedt will be heading to her first Tour de France Femmes next month after being selected to help support Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney’s bid for a second Tour title.
The decision to take the Welshwoman comes after she has emerged as one of Canyon-SRAM’s strongest riders in recent months. Bäckstedt claimed dual British road race and time trial titles in June.
Then on Sunday she won her second Baloise Ladies Tour title making it back-to-back wins in the Belgian race.
The Welshwoman’s performance against the watch was what secured her the win. She took the win in the 3.9km prologue and although she relinquished the leaders jersey briefly on stage two she stormed to victory in the 8km time trial on stage 3a.
On her Tour selection the 21 year-old said: “It's exciting, it's really cool. I’ve dreamt a little bit about being selected for the Tour in the last years.
She added: “Time trialling is the one thing that suits me the most so it’s really exciting to have a TT in there.
“Since the course was released last year, knowing that it had a time trial, there was maybe a little bit of a shift to focus on the Tour – to really do some prep and dial everything in so I could hopefully be selected. Now, I'm on the list to go and it's super exciting.
“I think the time trial is going to be my favourite stage of the whole race, and it's where I want to shine.
Bäckstedt, turned pro in 2023 straight from the junior ranks, has only raced one grand tour before, the Vuelta Femenina in 2024. She said: “I genuinely don't know how it's going to be. At La Vuelta, I was not in my best form and I fell sick halfway through, so there’ll be a lot of new things at the Tour this year.”
Although the time trial will be her primary focus she said she’s also hopeful of putting in a strong performance on one of the race’s tough road stage. She said: “I've looked at the route and there are a few other stages that I think could be okay for me if I can make it to the final, but the standout one is obviously the time trial.
“When I look back at the end of it, hopefully I’ve learned a lot. I think it's going to be one of those races where every day is a learning day.
“I would obviously love to go for a result in the time trial, but I can't put too big an expectation on it because it’s my first Tour and my first time against actually all of the big riders. Obviously, Marlen [Reusser] was in Tour de Suisse, so that was a good first experience, but having a good time trial, maybe one good road stage and doing a lot of team-work will be satisfying.”
Reflecting on her own goals, team leader Niewiadoma-Phinney said: "Coming into this year's Tour, I would definitely say that I'm richer in experience and have more knowledge of the Tour in general, which definitely gives me a little advantage. Because of that, I feel a bit calmer, and I also know what it takes to prepare perfectly for the race.
"This year is just a new opportunity. You're only as good as your last race.
"It's great to have a Tour victory on my palmares, but I definitely come in with a fresh mind and body ready to go after new experiences and, of course, the victory."
Aside from GC hopeful Niewiadoma-Phinney, Canyon-SRAM have a team that includes several other riders that could hope for a result.
Antonia Niedermaier was runner up at the Giro d’Italia Women in May and will be a potential GC threat alongside the team’s Polish leader.
Chiara Consonni can lay claim to her chances in sprint stages too.
They’ll be ably supported by Rosa Klöser, Soraya Paladin and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka.