Attacking the downhill with 57 kilometers to go in a 67.2-kilometer event is not the usual way to win a road race, but for junior world road race champion Zoe Backstedt, not taking too many paths to the gold medal was the perfect way to go on Saturday. It worked.

Already a phenomenally successful world championship racer in a variety of disciplines, including cyclocross, Madison, and road racing, Backstedt's fifth title in a year, and her second at the UCI Road World Championships this September, came on the first downhill of the day, a bold It was all thanks to a daring downhill on the first descent of the day.

After that, Backstedt literally never looked back and was more than two minutes ahead of his rivals by the finish, winning his second gold medal after the World Junior Time Trial earlier in the week.

As Backstedt later told reporters, "I didn't mean to go that fast.

"I went down the first little downhill, up the little branch, and managed to get on the inside of the pack and kept pushing.

"I knew I was going to speed up there and I was confident on the descent, so I tried to spin as much as I could."

"The first corner of the descent was pretty sketchy going in, but I went as fast as I could and made a gap on the descent. Then after the last corner, I kicked up a small climb.

He was over a minute and a half ahead of his rivals and faster than elite time trial winner Ellen van Dijk through the first time check. Still, Backstedt said she was not the only card in the four-member British contingent, citing Grace Lister and Awen Roberts as options for the day and emphasizing Roberts' climbing talent.

But as Backstedt also noted, "The plan was to solo me at some point. I knew Awen was good enough, but the moment came to me and I took it. But if I won or they won, we were all happy"

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Backstedt, who plans to turn pro at EF Education-TIBCO-SVB next season, said it was not smooth sailing after the breakaway, as the time gap was reduced from nearly three minutes to 2:20. However, from then on, he was able to keep pace with the time gap. From then on, however, she was able to pace herself to match the time gap, and thanks to her resilience, calculated efforts, and the strong support of her fans, everything fell into place.

"With one lap to go, I knew that if I could get through the climb as fast as I could, I could keep this time," she said. I had a lot of people calling out to me on the climb, and that really pushed me." That really pushed me."

"With three or four kilometers to go, my coach came up to me and said, 'You have two minutes left. Your chances are 100%.'"

"I was like, 'I'm not going to let that happen.'

Backstedt said that the underlying secret to this varied success on two wheels was to minimize external pressure and to enjoy the race as much as possible. And he has taken on special challenges, such as his success at the Track World Championships Madison earlier this year, at the last minute and without thereby raising expectations.

"My coach invited me to do literally one session and I landed the day before the championships. [But riding a bike is fun, and it doesn't matter what discipline you are in. And when you're having fun, results follow."