British champion Zoe Backstedt has been selected for her first Tour de France Femmes, where she will ride for Canyon-SRAM in support of defending champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney. The 21-year-old Welsh cyclist’s inclusion reflects a strong recent run of results and marks a significant step in her professional career.

The race starts in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 1 August. Backstedt won Britain’s road race and time trial titles in June, claimed a stage at the Tour de Suisse Femmes, and retained her Baloise Ladies Tour title; she has also won 15 junior and under-23 gold medals across road, track and cyclo-cross. Her father, Magnus, rode the men’s Tour de France seven times, while her sister Elynor and mother Meg have also competed at a high level.