Racing

Zoe Bäckstedt’s LAB71 SuperSix EVO for Roubaix

The Welsh rider will make her Roubaix debut on Saturday

April 7, 2023

Unpredictable. Chaotic. Wild.

You’ll often hear these words when riders describe what it’s like to race Paris-Roubaix. There is a reason it’s called the Hell of the North. So our mechanics have set up Zoe Bäckstedt’s Cannondale LAB71 SuperSix EVO to handle whatever the day may hold.

Zoe has opted to race on Corsa Control 30c tubeless tires from Vittoria for the 17 cobbled sectors. This larger size allows her to race on lower tire pressure which will enhance the grip on the slick, uneven cobbles. With four hours of intense, bone-jarring racing expected, Corsa Control 30c will give the Roubaix rookie comfort and control. Zoe will have less rolling resistance so she knows she’s getting maximum tire performance with each pedal stroke.

As for her pedals, Zoe has something special planned for Saturday. She will race on a pair of Wahoo Speedplay pedals designed in honor of her father, Magnus Bäckstedt’s 2004 Paris-Roubaix victory. For more on Zoe’s pedals and her Paris-Roubaix debut, click here.

After team recon earlier this week, Zoe said of the course, “I think when you're hitting the cobbles with 100 other riders, and you're going full gas on the road before the sector, it's going to change the whole dynamic of the race. It'll become a fight for every kilometer on the course. So yeah, it's going to be really savage.”

Her expectations are realistic. After all, the only guarantees at Roubaix are that it will be unpredictable, chaotic, and wild.

Specifications: Zoe Bäckstedt's Cannondale LAB71 SuperSixEVO

Frameset:

Cannondale LAB71 SuperSix EVO (54)

Groupset:

Dura-Ace 12-speed

Handlebar:

Vision Metron 4D

Handlebar tape:

Prologo

Saddle:

Prologo Dimension 143

Pedals:

Wahoo Speedplay pedals

Chainrings:

FSA 52/36

Cranks:

FSA KFL

Cassette:

11-30

Powermeter:

4iiii powermeter

Wheels:

Vision Metron 40 wheels

Tires:

Vittoria Corsa Control 30c tubeless

Tubeless valves:

Muc-Off valves

Computer:

Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM

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The push of the pedals

Zoe Bäckstedt

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.

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