Zoe Bäckstedt will make her cyclo-cross season debut on 28 December, less than two months after she fractured her wrist in a training crash, her Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto team has announced.
The 21-year-old, the reigning under-23 cyclo-cross world champion, said her helmet saved her life when she came off her bike on 1 November. Following the crash, she trained indoors for over a month, and has now been medically cleared to return to racing.
Bäckstedt was originally due to open her cyclo-cross season in mid-November, but will now do so at the UCI World Cup round in Dendermonde, Belgium, on 28 December. Her full calendar (published in full below) will count eight events, with her participation at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships on the final weekend of January still to be determined.
“For my first race back, my hopes and expectations are not super high – not in a bad way, but I don’t want to put pressure on myself to achieve something that’s not realistic,” Bäckstedt said in a statement released by Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto.
“It’s been a long six weeks watching everyone else racing and I just want to be racing with them. So maybe my first few races back are not great, but just give me some time.”
Last season, the Welshwoman competed in 16 cyclo-cross events, and finished inside the top 10 in every one. Her best results included second place in Zonhoven – her highest ever elite World Cup finish – and two victories at the UCI World Championships, in the mixed relay and under-23 race.
As she readies herself for her season opener in Dendermonde, the 21-year-old said she’s in “pretty okay shape, all things considered”.
“It feels so good to be back on the cross bike. I was a bit apprehensive about that first session, but in the end it was nothing to worry about,” she said.
“For sure, the strength around my wrist isn’t as good as it used to be, but that’s all part of coming back from injury.”
Earlier this month, Bäckstedt was named Cycling Weekly’s female Rider of the Year for 2025, thanks to her cyclo-cross and road performances; she also won five time trials this year, including the under-23 world title in Rwanda.
Asked about her love of cyclo-cross, Bäckstedt told Cycling Weekly: “Everyone thinks we must be a crazy bunch of people to enjoy racing in 2°C in the rain, when all the road riders are in the sun or on holiday. But that’s part of what I love about it, being in nature, among the trees.”
“In the summer, I always say, ‘Oh, I love the road, but I miss cyclo-cross.’ And in the winter, I always say the opposite. As long as I’m on a bike, I’m happy.”
Bäckstedt’s cyclo-cross calendar for 2025/2026 is below.
Zoe Bäckstedt’s 2025/2026 cyclo-cross season
28 December: Round 8, UCI World Cup Dendermonde (BEL)
29 December: X²O Trofee Azencross – Loenhout (BEL)
1 January: X²O Trofee Baal – GP Sven Nys (BEL)
3 January: Superprestige Gullegem (BEL)
4 January: Round 9, UCI World Cup Zonhoven (BEL)
18 January: Round 10, UCI World Cup Benidorm (ESP)
24 January: Round 11, UCI World Cup Maasmechelen (BEL)
25 January: Round 12, UCI World Cup Hoogerheide (NED)
TBD, 30 January: UCI World Championships Hulst (NED)
TBD, 31 January: UCI World Championships Hulst (NED)
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