Teenage star Cat Ferguson added a fifth world title to her growing collection a the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships as part of the Great Britain team which triumphed in the mixed team relay event on Friday.
She'll take on the under-23 women's race along with fellow newly crowned world champion Zoe Bäckstedt on Sunday, while she's also preparing for her first assault on the one-day Classics later this spring.
The 18-year-old Briton can already count junior world titles on the road (both road race and time trial) and the track (team pursuit and omnium), all won last season.
On the road, she made her debut as a stagiaire for Movistar last year and instantly opened her professional account winning a stage at the AG Tour de la Semois and then at Binche-Chimay-Binche pour Dames.
"It was a big shock last year and I'm super grateful to have been given the opportunity to race as a junior in professional races," said Ferguson, who signed with the Spanish team on a three-year deal over the winter.
"It was crazy and something that I'll never forget. I think at the minute I see myself as a one-day Classics rider. Classics and one-day races are obviously super hard, but for me as a young rider maybe it's a little bit easier to target them.
"I think the Grand Tour races are the toughest thing in the sport. I'd love to improve myself and get better at them. Hopefully, if I have a long and good career, that is something I would like to aim for."
Ferguson said that she'll "definitely" focus on one-day races at the start of her career, with the relatively shorter nature of the races more suited to her endurance ability at this early stage of her career.
"For the start of my career, I definitely feel that one-day races are what I will focus on. It's just one day rather than back-to-back days that you need longer and have better endurance for," she said.
"I'll have a break after the Cyclo-cross World Championships, then I'll be racing on the road near the end of March. I'll do some Classics, some big ones but not loads. I'm super-excited to get racing again with the road time."
Ferguson has already joined Movistar on a January training camp and says that she "couldn't be happier" to have signed for the team for three years. Despite finishing the road season in style, Ferguson has had a tougher introduction to elite cyclocross racing.
Her European 'cross season was only a week old when she suffered a concussion after a heavy crash in the World Cup at Hulst. As a result, she was ruled out of competition for three weeks missing the Christmas period of races.
The teenager finished second at the British National Championships and then her season-best 16th at the UCI World Cup in Benidorm.
"It has been hard. It has definitely been a baptism of fire. Stepping up from junior is a big step to make. I have struggled to find my feet this season. Only one or two races have really gone my way," Ferguson said.
"The crash at Hulst was not great, just as I was getting like into the feeling of 'cross that took me out for a bit and took me a while to come back, but stuff happens and that is part of bike racing."
However, the Briton struck gold again and played a key role in Great Britain's gold medal ride on Friday. She took home the rainbow jersey alongside Bäckstedt, Thomas Mein, Zoe Roche, Oscar Amey, and Milo Wills.
The British team were out of medal contention in the first half of the race before pulling back the medal positions in dramatic fashion. On the last lap of six, Thomas Mein took the front from fourth place and pulled out a winning advantage.
The victory was made even sweeter for Ferguson and her teammates, with the team having been narrowly beaten into silver 12 months earlier.
"It's so nice to win the jersey with the team. To win it today was unexpected. It's super nice feeling and great with the team, like we're all super happy and proud of each other," said Ferguson.
"You don't put work in the relay, it's not a specific event you work for. It's a really fun and dynamic event and people love watching it.
"I think it's even more exciting than the main races, you don't know who is winning until right at the end."
