Zoe Backstedt hopes that a World Tour-level road racing season at EF Education-TIBCO-SVB will help her improve as a cyclocross rider, and the talented teenager aims to combine the two disciplines in the coming years The team has been working on a combination of the two disciplines for the next few years.

The 18-year-old won world titles in road racing, time trial, and cyclocross as a junior, but is now stepping up as an under-23 rider. Despite a hard crash early in Sunday's under-23 European cyclocross championships, Backstedt finished fifth, 1:53 behind winner Puck Pieterse.

The teenager, who signed a two-year contract with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB, hopes that her first full season as a professional road rider will also help improve her cyclocross form.

"I want to combine (cyclocross and road)," Backstedt said.

"Cyclocross is really fun and very technical.

"When you race on the road, you can see the difference in endurance when you go back to cyclocross; you go into a cyclocross race that's an hour long and you have the endurance to do a full gas for 10 minutes.

"It doesn't sound like much of a difference, but it can be."

Backstedt hopes to "find himself" in his first year at EF Education and is eyeing the spring classics, following in the footsteps of his father, Magnus Backstedt, who won Paris-Roubaix 18 years ago.

"My goal is to help the team and get results.

"To develop myself as a rider. I don't think I'm going for the championship yet. It will be a pretty big step to go from junior to the world tour."

"Finding myself and completing 140 or 160 kilometer days. I can be myself, I can run the way I want to, the way the team needs me to. I don't think I'm my best in mountain races, but I think I can be my best in Roubaix and the Tour de Flanders.

"You never know what will happen in the road season.

Backstedt finished second in the Coupe de France cyclocross in Nommay last month, losing to teammate Clara Honsinger. She hopes to soon break into the top 10 in the elite World Cup round and will battle Anna Kay for the British national cyclo-cross title in January.

"I want to move up the field and get a couple of top 10s in the World Cup," she said.

"It would mean a lot to me if I could make the national championship kits next year."

Backstedt competed in his first major championship as a player under 23 this past weekend on the treacherous Namur course. After a perfect start, the British rider crashed hard on a muddy bank and landed on the cobblestones at the bottom.

The crash resulted in a double puncture and he lost 36 seconds before switching bikes.

Puck Pieters of the Netherlands won the race in convincing fashion, beating second-place French teenager Line Bourquier and third-place rider Shirin Van Unrooy by 50 seconds.

Backstedt battled with Marie Schreiber for fourth place, but stalled on the last lap to finish 26 seconds behind the medal.

"It was an interesting race, but fifth place is pretty good," Backstedt added.

"I was icing my knee and I looked back at the crash and it was so epic. The moment I crashed I knew it wasn't going to be good. I had a double puncture and my shifter was twisted. On the climb the puncture was fine, and it was cobblestones, so I just went as fast as I could."

"Sure the equipment is a little bit ruined, but it's the European Championships and you have to ride.

"The bike felt great. I was able to catch up with a lot of riders on the climbs. It's not usually my favorite course, but I felt like I could punch it hard there."

"I just took advantage of that and played it safe on the downhills."