Magnus Bäckstedt (born 30 January 1975) is a Swedish former professional road bicycle racer. His most notable achievement in cycling is winning Paris–Roubaix in 2004.
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Early life
Born in Linköping, Östergötland, Bäckstedt began as a skier, selected for the national team when he was 14.
Career
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 1998 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 three 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 Slipstream–Chipotle in 2008. He was eliminated in that year's Tour de France for being too slow. He said: