British rider Zoe Backstedt won silver in the women’s under-23 race at the Cyclo-cross World Championships.
The Netherlands’ Shirin van Anrooij, 21, sealed a dominant victory to take the rainbow jersey in Hoogerheide.
She beat 18-year-old Welsh rider Backstedt by 33 seconds at the end of the 45-minute race, with Czech Kristyna Zemanova in third – one minute 32 seconds back.
“I am super happy,” Backstedt said. “I would have been happy with top five.”
Backstedt added she knew she could not keep pace with the “insanely strong” Van Anrooij.
“I am just pleased to have been as close as I was for as long as I was,” she said.
“This is my first year in the under-23 race. To get second, I am really over the moon.”
England’s Millie Couzens was the second British rider home – finishing 12th – while Welsh rider Ella Maclean-Howell was 16th.
