Schreiber in front of the huge crowds in Liévin(Image credit: Getty Images)
Zoe Bäckstedt Great Britain) soaked up the pressure and overcame a last-lap slip to defend her under-23 women’s Cyclo-cross World Championships crown in Liévin.
Bäckstedt stayed ahead of Marie Schreiber (Luxembourg), who made a late charge and finished second, while Leonie Bentveld (Netherlands) took bronze.
The British rider came into the event as a firm favourite but crashed heavily on the opening lap on a slippery descent. However, after changing onto a bike with lower tyre pressure, she charged through the mud and pulled out a sizeable advantage.
After recovering from a heavy crash last weekend Schreiber provided the challenge for the British star. However, a series of errors on one technical section cost her, and she was distanced in second place.
The race was not over, though, and a slip on the final lap by Bäckstedt allowed her opponent to come fighting back within 16 seconds. However, Bäckstedt was not to be denied and powered through the final gap to take victory 39 seconds ahead of Schreiber.
Meanwhile, Bentveld finished in bronze after battling past quick starter Célia Gery (France).
“It hasn’t been the smoothest of seasons, but the last few races boosted my confidence,” said Backstedt. “Coming into this one, I had the fire for it. I’m happy to come out on top.
“The first lap wasn’t so smooth for me ... a little bit of panic in the end. It was completely opposite conditions to the recon and just adrenaline from the start of the world championships. I slipped on one of the corners and wiped out, so I was further behind. I managed to reset myself and come back to the front.
“I wanted to drop the tyre pressure a little bit to see what it was like; I thought it would help. Once that happened and I was on that lower pressure I felt a lot more comfortable.
“It was a challenging course, different to what I thought it would be like, and it was a lot more slippery, even the flat corners; it was super-easy to wipe out in places. I was still having to push all the way to the line, and it made for an interesting race."
How it unfolded
A total of 45 riders from 19 nations battled it out for under-23 women’s honours.
Defending champion Bäckstedt came into the event as the firm favourite after sealing the under-23 World Cup overall last weekend.
The 2.8-kilometre course snaked around parkland and included short but steep climbs and technical off-camber descents. Freezing temperatures overnight in Liévin meant that the course was still firm but softening quickly as riders took the start line.
A mistake from challenger Schreiber away from the start saw the Luxembourg national champion miss her pedal and shuffle back in the pack.
Sprinting away up the tarmac start it was pre-race favourite Bäckstedt who led the bunch through the opening sections.
Despite her early mistake, Schreiber showed her speed through the opening corners and then sprinted away at the front.
French home favourite Gery was able to follow Schreiber as Bäckstedt crashed and was pushed back to fourth, a few seconds back.
Bentveld finished third in last year’s under-23 World Championships and was also at the front in the opening exchanges. Meanwhile, European champion Gery was thriving with the home support in the opening lap as the leading group of four distanced their competitors.
While her challengers took a bike change Bäckstedt opened a gap before sliding out at the bottom of a steep bank. After the opening lap Bäckstedt, Gery and Schreiber had gapped Dutch rider Bentveld by nine seconds.
Bäkstedt requested less pressure in her rear tyre following two first-lap crashes and had a bike change as the course was becoming more slippery. With her fresh bike, the defending world champion put the power down and opened up a gap on Gery and Schreiber, who was also struggling in the conditions.
Following her first lap exploits Gery started to suffer as she, Schreiber and Bentveld were each separated by a handful of seconds. Gery was the next competitor to make a small error and Schreiber took advantage to move into silver position.
At the end of the second of five laps, Bäckstedt was almost out of sight and led by 21 seconds from Schreiber, while Gery was taking on an energy gel as she sat just ahead of Bentveld.
Bentveld took advantage of the fading Gery and joined her in the fight for the bronze medal position by the halfway distance.
Schreiber was determined not to allow Bäckstedt an easy ride and reduced the gap to 12 seconds at the end of lap three. Behind, Bentveld was looking behind to the position of Gerry who sat nine seconds further back in fourth going into the penultimate lap.
However, the slippery section which tested Schreiber in the early stages again caused the Luxembourg champion to falter as the gap grew back out to 24 seconds behind Bäckstedt.
That mistake gave the Brit renewed optimism as she eased her pace through the technical sections and kept in control. Taking the last lap bell Bäckstedt was out of sight on the uphill finish and 26 seconds ahead of Schreiber, with Bentveld a further 26 seconds behind.
The same section which impacted Schreiber the previous lap caught out Bäckstedt who fell to her knees and saw her gap cut to 16 seconds.
As the course flowed and cut back on itself, the Brit was able to see the position of her rival as she defended first place and pulled her gap back out to 25 seconds.
The CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto rider finally had time to celebrate a third cyclo-cross world title and her second at under-23 level in a row.
Schreiber picked up her first world championships medal finishing 39 seconds behind in second. Meanwhile, Bentveld repeated her bronze medal performance from last season finishing 1:20 back from the winner.
Ben raced as an amateur cyclist in the UK from a young age into the senior ranks on the road, track and in cyclocross. He has an NQJ qualification in journalism, and a sports journalism degree, and has spent over 10 years as a news and sports journalist. Ben has been covering cyclocross for media outlets, including Cyclingnews, since 2021 and has been on the ground reporting at World Championships in Zolder, Belvaux, Valkenberg, Dubendorf, and Hoogerheide. Away from cycling as a freelance sports journalist, Ben regularly reports on a range of sports including football, rugby, and snooker amongst others. However, he is happiest whilst reporting on-site at cyclocross races in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Dutch rider equals Erik De Vlaeminck on seven titles in elite men's event as Belgians Wout van Aert settles for second after crash, Thibau Nys third in Liévin
