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Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM) wins elite women’s road race at 2026 British Road Championships(Image credit: SWpix.com)

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Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon//SRAM) completed a stunning double in the elite women’s road race at the British Road Championships in Aberystwyth on Sunday. After successfully defending her individual time trial title on Thursday, Bäckstedt added the road race to her palmares, her first elite title on the road won on home soil in Wales.

DAS-Hutchinson’s Josie Knight finished second, a fantastic reward following a brave solo ride in the breakaway for the track specialist, and last year’s champion Millie Couzens (Fenix-Premier Tech) won the sprint from a reduced bunch to round out the podium.

Knight attacked early in the race, ahead of the finishing circuit in Aberystwyth, and led the race alone for over 90 kilometres, enjoying a gap of around 8 minutes at one point.

A chase group of three riders – Bäckstedt, Matilda McKibben (O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes) and Jo Tindley (Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team) – attempted to make an impact on Knight’s advantage and cut it down to four minutes with three laps of the local circuit remaining, when Bäckstedt launched an attack to leave the trio and set off in pursuit of Knight.

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The chase group put pressure on the leaders, closing to within two minutes of Bäckstedt as she took the lead. However, they were no match for the endurance of the Welsh rider, and were unable to make any further impression on Bäckstedt’s lead over the remainder of the race.

The 21-year-old proved her mettle, holding on to become the first British woman to complete the time-trial-road race double since Alice Wood in 2019. Speaking after the race, Backstedt said: “It was a really interesting race with the break getting almost seven minutes, I think. I didn’t have the best feeling in my legs at the beginning of the day, and then going over the long climb, I felt okay, so I decided to try and follow some stuff, and yeah, 50k-55k solo, then to the finish, so was a really hard day.”

On whether or not she enjoyed the race, Bäckstedt had this to say. “Enjoyed is an interesting word. I pushed myself to the limit. I just wanted to control a little bit of my power, so I knew what I could do for such a long period of time, and just needed to keep eating, keep drinking, and stay focused until the end, and keep pushing to try and catch back Josie. That happened, and then still had a lot to go, so one of the hardest laps was that last one. Just also mentally knowing that I was so close to the finish.

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Pos	Rider	Time
1	Zoe Backstedt (GBr) Canyon//Sram	3:30:44
2	Josie Knight (GBr) Das-Hutchinson	00:01:42
3	Millie Couzens (GBr) Fenix-Premier Tech	00:02:02
4	Pfeiffer Zara Georgi (GBr) Picnic PostNL	00:02:02
5	Anna Morris (GBr)	00:02:02
6	Imogen Wolff (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike	00:02:02
7	Erin Boothman (GBr) Liv AlUla Jayco	00:02:02
8	Josie Nelson (GBr) Picnic PostNL	00:02:03
9	Anna Henderson (GBr) Lidl-Trek	00:02:03
10	Noemie Thomson (GBr) Das-Hutchinson	00:02:03
11	Flora Perkins (GBr) Fenix-Premier Tech	00:02:07
12	Alice Towers (GBr) EF Education-Oatly	00:02:29
13	Abigail Miller (GBr) Uae Development Team	00:04:40
14	Robyn Clay (GBr) Picnic PostNL	00:04:40
15	Morven Yeoman (GBr) Das-Hutchinson	00:04:40
16	Claire Steels (GBr) Movistar Team	00:04:40
17	Becky Storrie (GBr) Picnic PostNL	00:04:40
18	Lucy Lee (GBr) Das-Hutchinson	00:05:01
19	Awen Roberts (GBr) Canyon//Sram Generation	00:06:20
20	Grace Ward (GBr) O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes	00:06:20
21	Ellie Parry (GBr) Das-Hutchinson	00:07:50
22	Mari Porton (GBr) Handsling Alba Development Road Team	00:08:06
23	Jo Tindley (GBr) Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team	00:08:07
24	Matilda Mckibben (GBr) O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes	00:08:07
25	Amalie Cooper (GBr) Tirol Women Cycling	00:08:07
26	Katie Scott (GBr) Das-Hutchinson	00:08:07
DNF	April Tacey (GBr) Hitec Products-Fluid Control	Row 26 – Cell 2
DNF	Isabel Sharp (GBr) Handsling Alba Development Road Team	Row 27 – Cell 2
DNF	Millie Thomson (GBr)	Row 28 – Cell 2
DNF	Amy Henchoz (GBr)	Row 29 – Cell 2
DNF	Jennifer Powell (GBr)	Row 30 – Cell 2
DNF	Ruby Oakes (GBr)	Row 31 – Cell 2
DNF	Daisy Taylor (GBr)	Row 32 – Cell 2
DNF	Anna Flynn (GBr) Handsling Alba Development Road Team	Row 33 – Cell 2
DNF	Madeline Cooper (GBr) Handsling Alba Development Road Team	Row 34 – Cell 2
DNF	Beth Morrow (GBr) Handsling Alba Development Road Team	Row 35 – Cell 2
DNF	Becky Gardiner (GBr)	Row 36 – Cell 2
DNF	Arabella Blackburn (GBr) Handsling Alba Development Road Team	Row 37 – Cell 2
DNF	Georgia Huddleston (GBr)	Row 38 – Cell 2
DNF	Xan Crees (GBr)	Row 39 – Cell 2
DNF	Kim Baptista (GBr)	Row 40 – Cell 2
DNF	Phoebe Roche (GBr)	Row 41 – Cell 2
DNF	Niamh Murphy (GBr)	Row 42 – Cell 2
DNF	Amelia Cebak (GBr) Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team	Row 43 – Cell 2
DNF	Jenny Holl (GBr)	Row 44 – Cell 2
DNF	Arianne Holland (GBr) Handsling Alba Development Road Team	Row 45 – Cell 2
DNF	Eilidh Shaw (GBr) Uae Development Team	Row 46 – Cell 2
DNF	Ruby Blanc (GBr)	Row 47 – Cell 2
DNF	Nicola Quaye (GBr)	Row 48 – Cell 2
DNF	Jessica Roberts (GBr)	Row 49 – Cell 2
DNF	Carys Lloyd (GBr) Movistar Team	Row 50 – Cell 2
DNF	Isabel Mayes (GBr) O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes	Row 51 – Cell 2
DNF	Madelaine Leech (GBr) Handsling Alba Development Road Team	Row 52 – Cell 2
DNF	Annabel Ramsay (GBr) Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team	Row 53 – Cell 2
DNF	Lydia Louw (GBr)	Row 54 – Cell 2
DNF	Jihanna Bonilla-Allard (GBr)	Row 55 – Cell 2
DNF	Kirstie Drakeford (GBr)	Row 56 – Cell 2
DNF	Sian Botteley (GBr)	Row 57 – Cell 2
DNF	Francesca Ryde (GBr)	Row 58 – Cell 2
DNF	Lowri Richards (GBr)	Row 59 – Cell 2
DNF	Holly Ramsey (GBr) Handsling Alba Development Road Team	Row 60 – Cell 2
DNF	Libby Bell (GBr)	Row 61 – Cell 2
DNF	Jessica Morrish (GBr)	Row 62 – Cell 2
DNF	Erin Avill (GBr)	Row 63 – Cell 2
DNF	Ailsa Mclagan (GBr)	Row 64 – Cell 2
DNF	Kayla Dinnin (GBr)	Row 65 – Cell 2
DNF	Georgia Lancaster (GBr)	Row 66 – Cell 2
DNF	Alice Colling (GBr) Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team	Row 67 – Cell 2
DNF	Kate Richardson (GBr) Handsling Alba Development Road Team	Row 68 – Cell 2
DNF	Lily Martin (GBr)	Row 69 – Cell 2
DNF	Dannielle Watkinson (GBr)	Row 70 – Cell 2
DNF	Sophie Holmes (GBr)	Row 71 – Cell 2
DNF	Lucy Neatham (GBr)	Row 72 – Cell 2
DNF	Sophie Lewis (GBr) Das-Hutchinson	Row 73 – Cell 2
DNF	Maddie Heywood (GBr)	Row 74 – Cell 2
DNF	Hannah Bayes (GBr)	Row 75 – Cell 2
DNF	Lucy Bulkeley (GBr)	Row 76 – Cell 2
DNF	Carys Blowers (GBr)	Row 77 – Cell 2
DNF	Grace Lister (GBr) Handsling Alba Development Road Team	Row 78 – Cell 2
DNF	Rebecca Woodvine (GBr)	Row 79 – Cell 2
DNF	Megan Lloyd (GBr)	Row 80 – Cell 2
DNF	Lucy Glover (GBr) Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team	Row 81 – Cell 2
DNF	Amy Scott (GBr)	Row 82 – Cell 2
DNS	Lauren Dickson (GBr) FDJ United-SUEZ	Row 83 – Cell 2
DNS	Anna Boniface (GBr)	Row 84 – Cell 2
DNS	Rachel Galler (GBr)	Row 85 – Cell 2
DNS	Miriam Jessett (GBr)	Row 86 – Cell 2
DNS	Connie Hayes (GBr) O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes	Row 87 – Cell 2
DNS	Lili-Keau Juntakereket (GBr)	Row 88 – Cell 2
DNS	Megan Barker (GBr)	Row 89 – Cell 2
DNS	Abi Smith (GBr)	Row 90 – Cell 2
DNS	Sophie Wright (GBr)	Row 91 – Cell 2
DNS	Elynor Backstedt (GBr) UAE Team ADQ	Row 92 – Cell 2
DNS	Ella Maclean-Howell (GBr)	Row 93 – Cell 2
DNS	Catrin Ferguson (GBr) Movistar Team	Row 94 – Cell 2
DNS	Elena Day (GBr) Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team	Row 95 – Cell 2

TOPICS

British National Championships: Zoe Bäckstedt doubles up with elite women’s road race win

Knight attacked early in the race, ahead of the finishing circuit in Aberystwyth, and led the race alone for over 90 kilometres, enjoying a gap of around 8 minutes at one point.

British National Championships: Zoe Bäckstedt doubles up with elite women’s road race win

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