SUFFOLK cycling star Victoria Pendleton has revealed she is “terrified” at the prospect of quitting the sport but insists she will still be calling it a day after London 2012.

The former Mildenhall Cycling Club rider, 31, plans to quit the sport after the Olympics due to the effect injuries are having on her training regime.

Pendleton won gold in the sprint in Beijing, three years ago but believes 2012 is the right time to retire, even if she does not know what the future holds for her.

“I am terrified, I am really terrified, about life after cycling because that is all I have done,” she said.

“Apart from a job over the Christmas holidays where I did some part-time work at my local pub and restaurant to earn some extra cash in between uni, I really haven’t had any jobs.

“It is quite daunting. What will I be good at? What do I want to do? It is really, really hard.

“I think I am going to take a year out to try everything.

“I am going to take up as many opportunities as I can with the people I have met along the way and just try a load of stuff.

“I really don’t know what I am going to do and what I enjoy doing.”

Pendleton has a desire to be an elite coach and likes the idea of working as a personal trainer.

“My sporting career has kind of come to a natural end, really,” Pendleton said.

“I have been racing since I was nine and at an elite level for 10 years. There is not many people that stay in the same job for 10 years and the same place of work.

“I don’t really have that many options. It is not like I can move to another national team.

“Also I have been experiencing a lot of injuries and a lot more injuries down to wear and tear.

“That’s not going to go away so you just have to manage.

“I really struggle with managing as I feel like I am compromising what I do.

“It makes me feel very uneasy and it is not something that is going to change. You can’t turn back the hands of time, it just naturally happens.”