Magnus Bäckstedt
Encyclopedia
Magnus Bäckstedt is a Swedish
professional road bicycle racer.
He began as a skier, selected for the national team when he was 14. His greatest achievement in cycling is winning Paris–Roubaix in 2004. Bäckstedt is 1m 93 (6 ft 4in) tall and weighs 94 kg (207 lb). He was one of the biggest riders in professional cycling.
Bäckstedt began his professional career in 1996, riding for Collstrop before moving to Palmans in 1997. In 1998, having switched to GAN
, Bäckstedt came seventh in Paris–Roubaix and won the 19th stage of the 1998 Tour de France
between La Chaux-de-Fonds
and Autun
.
In 2002 and 2003 he rode for Team Fakta
where he was the strongest rider in 2003. When Fakta closed he went to Alessio-Bianchi
, where he won the 2004 Paris–Roubaix. The two favourites, Peter van Petegem
and Johan Museeuw
dropped out after crashes, leaving Bäckstedt to sprint on the track at Roubaix
against two others. The manager of Crédit Agricole, Roger Legeay
, had predicted that Bäckstedt would one day win the race. He said: "He's not a flahute. He's not especially the fastest, but after 260km on the cobbles, it's often the rider who feels freshest who wins."
In 2005 Bäckstedt moved to Liquigas-Bianchi, and came second on the 7th stage of the 2005 Tour de France
. He rode for Garmin-Chipotle in 2008. He was eliminated in that year's Tour de France for being too slow. He said:
Bäckstedt announced his retirement from professional cycling on 6 February 2009, citing a desire to focus on managing his developmental cycling team, Cyclesport.se-MagnusMaximusCoffee.com. Bäckstedt said he will also continue as a consultant with his former Garmin-Slipstream team. The Swede had struggled with a number of health issues during his career, including a serious knee injury, melanoma, and a separated shoulder and broken collarbone.
On 13 November 2010, Bäckstedt announced at the UK Youth
Centenary Gala that he would be coming out of retirement to lead the UK Youth Cycling Team along with Nigel Mansell
and his sons.
. They live in Wales
, moving there from Zulte
, near Waregem
, in Belgium
. They have two daughters. Bäckstedt said: "We used to come back here [to Wales] every time I had a break. I prefer it to Belgium. You can ride 30 miles between villages here, whereas in Belgium you were stopping for traffic lights."
His sister Cecilia is also a racing cyclist.
Bäckstedt runs a coffee business with franchises in the US and Sweden. Proceeds from the business support Swedish cycling.
1997
1998
2000
2002
2003
2004
2005
2007
2008
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
professional road bicycle racer.
He began as a skier, selected for the national team when he was 14. His greatest achievement in cycling is winning Paris–Roubaix in 2004. Bäckstedt is 1m 93 (6 ft 4in) tall and weighs 94 kg (207 lb). He was one of the biggest riders in professional cycling.
Bäckstedt began his professional career in 1996, riding for Collstrop before moving to Palmans in 1997. In 1998, having switched to GAN
Crédit Agricole (cycling team)
Crédit Agricole was a French professional cycling team managed by Roger Legeay and sponsored by the French bank, Crédit Agricole, since 1997. Before 1997 the team was known as GAN. Since 2005, the team is one of the 20 that compete in the UCI ProTour. Crédit Agricole announced that they would...
, Bäckstedt came seventh in Paris–Roubaix and won the 19th stage of the 1998 Tour de France
1998 Tour de France
The 1998 Tour de France, also called the Tour du Dopage , was marred by doping scandals throughout known as the Festina affair, starting with the arrest of Willy Voet, a soigneur in the French Festina team. Voet was traveling into France when he was arrested and found with large quantities of...
between La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds is a Swiss city of the district of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometres from the French border. After Geneva and Lausanne, it is the third largest city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of...
and Autun
Autun
Autun is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in Burgundy in eastern France. It was founded during the early Roman Empire as Augustodunum. Autun marks the easternmost extent of the Umayyad campaign in Europe.-Early history:...
.
In 2002 and 2003 he rode for Team Fakta
Team Fakta
Team Fakta was a Danish professional road bicycle racing team, which was active in the seasons 1999 to 2003. The main sponsor FDB is a consumer owned grocery chain, whose discount outlets are called Fakta....
where he was the strongest rider in 2003. When Fakta closed he went to Alessio-Bianchi
Alessio-Bianchi
Alessio-Bianchi was an Italian professional cycling team which excisted from 1998 to 2004. It was created in 1998 as Ballan. In 1999 Italian wheels manufacturer Alessio came in as co-sponsor, and in 2000 as main sponsor...
, where he won the 2004 Paris–Roubaix. The two favourites, Peter van Petegem
Peter van Petegem
Peter van Petegem is a former professional road racing cyclist. Van Petegem last rode for Quick Step-Innergetic, in 2007. He lived in Horebeke. He was a specialist in spring classics, one of ten riders to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris–Roubaix in the same season...
and Johan Museeuw
Johan Museeuw
Johan Museeuw is a retired Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He was a professional from 1988 to 2004 and was particularly successful in the classic cycle races in the nineties....
dropped out after crashes, leaving Bäckstedt to sprint on the track at Roubaix
Roubaix
Roubaix is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is located between the cities of Lille and Tourcoing.The Gare de Roubaix railway station offers connections to Lille, Tourcoing, Antwerp, Ostend and Paris.-Culture:...
against two others. The manager of Crédit Agricole, Roger Legeay
Roger Legeay
Roger Legeay is a French former professional racing cyclist and the manager of Crédit Agricole cycling team. Legeay had managed the Peugeot cycling team in its last year of existence in 1986, before it was reinvented as Z-Peugeot. The team was renamed GAN in 1994 under new sponsorship and once...
, had predicted that Bäckstedt would one day win the race. He said: "He's not a flahute. He's not especially the fastest, but after 260km on the cobbles, it's often the rider who feels freshest who wins."
In 2005 Bäckstedt moved to Liquigas-Bianchi, and came second on the 7th stage of the 2005 Tour de France
2005 Tour de France
The 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd Tour de France, taking place from July 2 to July 24, 2005. It comprised 21 stages over 3592.5 km, the winner's average speed was 41.654 km/h. The first stages were held in the département of the Vendée, for the third time in 12 years. The 2005 Tour was...
. He rode for Garmin-Chipotle in 2008. He was eliminated in that year's Tour de France for being too slow. He said:
- I had been going OK, and on that stage we decided to make it hard from the start because we were close enough to yellow to get the jersey. The first 60km were up and down, but I was going fine. Then there was this fourth-category climb and about halfway up I was suddenly short of breath. It was like I shut down from the waist down. I went straight out of the back. I calmed down and got back on top of it. There was 100km to go, but I went OK. I could see the numbers on the power meter and they were normal for the kind of effort you need to get to the finish on your own inside the time limit. I think I would have made it too, but there was a real steep hill just before the finish and my breathing and legs went again. I ended up four minutes outside the cut-off.
Bäckstedt announced his retirement from professional cycling on 6 February 2009, citing a desire to focus on managing his developmental cycling team, Cyclesport.se-MagnusMaximusCoffee.com. Bäckstedt said he will also continue as a consultant with his former Garmin-Slipstream team. The Swede had struggled with a number of health issues during his career, including a serious knee injury, melanoma, and a separated shoulder and broken collarbone.
On 13 November 2010, Bäckstedt announced at the UK Youth
UK Youth
UK Youth is a national youth work charity supporting over 750,000 young people, 40,000 volunteers and 7,000 youth projects, groups and clubs in the United Kingdom.-UK Youth:...
Centenary Gala that he would be coming out of retirement to lead the UK Youth Cycling Team along with Nigel Mansell
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series...
and his sons.
Private life
Bäckstedt is married to a British former international, Megan HughesMegan Hughes
Megan Hughes is a Welsh retired track and road racing cyclist. Hughes represented Wales at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, competing in the road race and points race where she finished fifth.She married the Swedish professional rider, Magnus Bäckstedt, they live in Llanharan...
. They live in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, moving there from Zulte
Zulte
Zulte is a Belgian municipality located in Flanders and in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Machelen, Olsene and Zulte proper. On January 1, 2006 Zulte had a total population of 14,611...
, near Waregem
Waregem
Waregem is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality lies in the valley of the Leie River, between Kortrijk and Ghent. It is part of the arrondissement of Kortrijk and comprises the towns of Beveren, Desselgem, Sint-Eloois-Vijve and Waregem proper. On...
, in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. They have two daughters. Bäckstedt said: "We used to come back here [to Wales] every time I had a break. I prefer it to Belgium. You can ride 30 miles between villages here, whereas in Belgium you were stopping for traffic lights."
His sister Cecilia is also a racing cyclist.
Bäckstedt runs a coffee business with franchises in the US and Sweden. Proceeds from the business support Swedish cycling.
Palmarès
1996- 1st Stage Boland Bank Tour
- 1st Stage Boland Bank Tour
- 2nd GP D'Isbergues
1997
- 1st GP D'Isbergues
1998
- 1st Stage 19 Tour de France1998 Tour de FranceThe 1998 Tour de France, also called the Tour du Dopage , was marred by doping scandals throughout known as the Festina affair, starting with the arrest of Willy Voet, a soigneur in the French Festina team. Voet was traveling into France when he was arrested and found with large quantities of...
- 1st Tour of SwedenTour of SwedenThe Tour of Sweden was an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Sweden from 1982 to 2002.- Past winners :* 1982 : * 1983 : * 1984 : * 1985 : * 1986 : * 1987 : * 1988 : * 1989 : * 1990 : * 1991 :...
- 1st Sprints competition Four days of DunkirkFour Days of DunkirkThe Four Days of Dunkirk is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Confusingly, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has usually been held over a 5 or 6 day period. Since 2005, the race is organised as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe...
- 2nd Overall Postgiro
- 1st Stage 4B
- 1st Duo NormandDuo NormandThe Duo Normand is a two-man team time trial for elite racing cyclists. Held annually in Normandy, France, it was instituted in 1982. Launched by a local cycling association, the Duo Normand takes place on a road circuit of more than every September...
(with Jérôme NeuvilleJérôme NeuvilleJérôme Neuville is a French racing cyclist.He had a break in his track cycling career between 1999 and 2002, during which time he competed on the road as a professional cyclist with the Crédit Agricole team , and Cofidis...
)
2000
- 2nd National Road Race championship
2002
- 1st National Road Race champion
- 1st GP Fayt le Franc
2003
- 1st National time trial champion
- 1st Intergiro competition winner Giro d'Italia2003 Giro d'ItaliaThe 2003 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 86th running of the race, was held from 10 May to 1 June 2003, consisting of 21 stages for a total of 3,472 km, ridden at an average speed of 38.828 km/h. It was won by Gilberto Simoni....
- 2nd Sweden National Championships
- 2nd Nokere-KoerseNokere-KoerseNokere Koerse is a European semi classic single day cycle race held in the Belgian region of Flanders. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour....
- 2nd GP d'Ouverture la Marseillaise
2004
- 1st Paris–Roubaix
- 2nd Gent–Wevelgem
- 2nd CSC Classic
2005
- 2nd Stage 7 Tour de France2005 Tour de FranceThe 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd Tour de France, taking place from July 2 to July 24, 2005. It comprised 21 stages over 3592.5 km, the winner's average speed was 41.654 km/h. The first stages were held in the département of the Vendée, for the third time in 12 years. The 2005 Tour was...
2007
- 1st National champion
2008
- 1st Stage 1 TTT Giro d'ItaliaGiro d'ItaliaThe Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
- 2nd Stage 3B, Three Days of de PanneThree Days of De PanneThe Three Days of De Panne is a mid-week, three-day stage race before the Ronde van Vlaanderen in De Panne in West Flanders, Belgium. It is rated 2.HC by the UCI and is part of the UCI Europe Tour.- Winners :...