QUEEN of the road – that’s what’s on the horizon for North Yorkshire professional cyclist Emma Silversides in 2011.

For the past three years Silversides has been a stalwart member of works teams on the arduous European women’s professional cycling circuit.

But after a rollercoaster summer of highs and lows in 2010 and mindful how she gave herself a timescale of staying in the saddle until 2012 before retiring, the Cawood ace has switched into a life-changing lane.

The gutsy 32-year-old has ditched her support role to take up the challenge of being the number one rider for a new team on next year’s circuit. And while agonising over whether to stay or go caused her several sleepless nights, Silversides now sighs with relief that she is now bound for an exciting and fresh challenge.

“After some time mulling it over I have decided to do something for myself and opt to be the lead rider,” said Silversides.

The former mathematics teacher is now hoping she will hit a magic formula of success with a new team for next season, the Sengers racing team, a Belgium-based outfit backed by a Dutch construction firm.

“After what has been an up and down season this past summer and autumn, I had to consider whether I wanted to continue being a support rider for other cyclists, which is what I have been doing for the past few years and whether I wanted to do something a bit more risky.

“I always put a limit on myself of retiring in 2012, so with that in mind I decided I no longer want to be a works rider but that I wanted to be the lead rider with others supporting me. It will be a complete change to what I have worked so long doing, but I would rather give it a go and take the risk.”

Her decision was helped by the fact that the Redsun team for which she rode during the past season lost its backing from its sponsors, though the team’s imminent folding, first announced in August, was not confirmed until ten days ago.

Silversides could have moved to other UCI League teams of French, Dutch or American origin. But she opted to take the dramatic about-turn and is now eagerly awaiting the chance to link up with her new Sengers team-mates next month.

The new outfit in which she will be the lead performer backed by about six other riders – a smaller team compared to others she has been used to – will not figure in UCI events.

But her chances of representing Great Britain on the World Cup circuit could be improved because her team will not be hampered by restrictive UCI regulations.

“It’s strange, but it could boost my chances of riding in the World Cup because it leaves me a lot freer for national selection than when covered by UCI rules,” she said. “It’s a gamble, but one worth taking.”