Bäckstedt must defend leader's jersey completely alone: "Dygert broke her nose against a bathroom door"

Dressed in the leader's jersey, the 20-year-old British rider had to survive the violence of SD Worx-Protime and Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, among others. She succeeded magnificently. Team leader and father Magnus Bäckstedt got gray hairs from it, where possible. Along the way, his daughter's last teammate dropped out. 'Whether I have ever experienced something like that in my career,' the Swede thought aloud to NOS. "In the Vuelta, I once had only one teammate who had left. Then the organization insisted we go home."

So things are not running smoothly, even though the Dutch round started so well for Canyon // Sram Racing, with Bäckstedt's opening victory. "Chloé Dygert broke her nose due to a collision with the bathroom door in the hotel. She even continued to ride the opening time trial with a broken nose. But afterward, she appeared to have slight symptoms of a concussion, and then we immediately said: stop. Then Maike van der Duin and Soraya Paladin, who shared a room, got sick. And yesterday, Alex Morrice fell behind in the echelon madness and finally dropped out. Zoe will have to do it on her own."

Bäckstedt junior had to change plans midway through the year. "This summer, I've been sick," she says. "This race in the Netherlands was my last big goal. And I'm not giving that up just like that." She is doing everything possible to achieve that goal, even though the youngster must get the drink bottles herself. "It's a bit like cyclo-cross, then I'm also usually alone with my dad and a mechanic.' How was the team meeting? I spent an hour in the car with my dad from the hotel to the start."

"You know, I will do my best to defend the jersey. I'll have to make sure I can take advantage of the strong teams. Bonding, yes. And I still have my sister Elynor." Her older sister rides at Lidl-Trek, so she won't be able to count on any actual collaboration. However, her father is still by her side, although he will leave the team next year after a difference of opinion with the management. "If he is my team leader, then we are professional. Of course, it is unfortunate that he has to leave, but that is a business decision. And if he is no longer a team manager, he will just be my father again."