Though just 18-years-old, Zoe Bäckstedt has already built up a remarkable palmarès. At the 2022 World Championships in Wollongong, Australia, she won the junior time trial in a commanding fashion, edging out her nearest rival by over 90 seconds on the 14.1-kilometer course. Just a few days later, on her 18th birthday no less, she successfully defended her title as junior road race world champion.

Her Wollongong results, in addition to her titles of world champion in the Madison and cyclocross, make her the first rider in the history of professional cycling to hold four world champion titles simultaneously.

Between the road and cyclocross, Zoe races in EF Education-TIBCO-SVB pink year round. She joined EF Education-TIBCO-SVB mid-way through 2022 as a trainee with the goal of gaining experience and learning to adjust to the longer races at the elite level. In her first race with the team, she helped the squad win the opening team time trial and wore the best young rider’s jersey for the following stage.

For most riders, the off season is a time to slow down, but that wasn’t the case with Zoe. She packed up her childhood bedroom in Wales and moved to Belgium in order to be closer to her cyclocross training ground and races. She raced once or twice a week through most of the cyclocross season. In Nommay, Zoe finished second, standing alongside her road and CX teammate Clara Honsinger on the podium.

Bikes have been part of Zoe’s family for as long as she can remember. Her dad won Paris-Roubaix, her mom is a former British champion, and her sister also races in the WorldTour so perhaps it was inevitable that she would become a cyclist. However, before she turned pro, she grew up juggling netball, tennis, and cycling and ultimately opted to stick with cycling when training sessions began to overlap.

Outside of cycling, Zoe’s main passions are following Formula 1 and binge watching Marvel and Avengers films.