- Victoria Pendleton
Infobox Cyclist
ridername = Victoria Pendleton
image_caption =
fullname = Victoria Pendleton
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1980|9|24
country = GBR
height = height|m=1.65cite web|url=http://www.olympics.org.uk/athleterecord.aspx?at=5690|title=Victoria Pendleton - Olympic Record|publisher=British Olympic Association]
weight = convert|60|kg|lb st|abbr=on|lk=on
currentteam =
discipline = Track
role = Rider
ridertype = Sprinter
amateuryears =
amateurteams = Mildenhall Cycling Club
proyears =
proteams = Team Science in Sport / Trek
majorwins = flagiconUCI Sprint world champion (2005, 2007, 2008)
flagiconUCI Keirin world champion (2007)
flagiconUCI Team sprint world champion (2007, 2008)
Individual sprint Olympic champion (2008)
updated = 19 August 2008Victoria Pendleton (born 24 September 1980) is an English Olympic and world champion
track cyclist .Early years
Born in
Stotfold ,Bedfordshire , she rode her first race, a 400m event on the grass track atFordham at the age of 9. Pendleton showed her promise at the age of 13 and was spotted three years later by the assistant national track coach,Marshal Thomas . At that time she wanted to concentrate on her education, graduating fromFearnhill School inLetchworth , and later awarded a degree in Sport and Exercise Science byNorthumbria University ,Newcastle upon Tyne . She enjoyed some success on the track as a student before graduating and becoming a full time cyclist. [cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article3137815.ece|title=Victoria Pendleton’s secrets|publisher=The Sunday Times|date=6 January 2008]uccess on the track
Pendleton won one bronze and three silver medals in the
British National Track Championships in 2001, while still a student. In 2002, she qualified for the England Commonwealth Games team, finishing fourth in the sprint. She again came fourth in the sprint at the 2003 World Championships in Stuttgart and the 2004 World Championships in Melbourne. She ranked 2nd overall in the World Cup for the sprint in 2004, winning the World Cup event in Manchester.At the
2004 Summer Olympics , she finished 6th in the women's time trial and 9th in the women's 200m sprintAt the 2005 World Championships, Pendleton won her first major medal with gold in the women's sprint. She became the third British woman to become a cycling world champion in 40 years. [cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2005_14_thu_03.shtml|title=The first British woman to win gold in the World Cycling Championships|publisher=Radio 4, Woman's Hour Interview]
At the
2006 Commonwealth Games , she won silver in the women's 500m time trial and gold in the women's sprint in Melbourne.At the
2007 UCI Track World Championships , she won the gold in the women'steam sprint withShanaze Reade , the individual gold in the women's sprint, and a third gold in the women'sKeirin . [cite web |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUKL016655320070401 |title=Pendleton completes flawless worlds with third gold |publisher=Reuters |author=Simon Baskett |date=2007-04-01 |accessdate=2007-04-02] She crowned the year by being named "Sunday Times " Sportswoman of the Year for 2007, becoming the only cyclist to win the award in its 20-year history. [cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article2906088.ece|title=Victoria Pendleton named Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year|publisher=The Sunday Times|date=20 November 2007] Pendleton was also votedSports Journalists' Association of Great Britain 's sportswoman of the year for 2007 [cite news|url=http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/tra/News2007/20071213_Pendleton_Honoured.asp|title=Victoria Pendleton Voted Sportswoman of the Year|publisher=British Cycling|date=13 December 2007] .During her build-up to the Olympics she won two gold medals at the 2008 UCI Track World Championships in the women's sprint, and the women's team sprint (again with Shanaze Reade); she was also second in the women's keirin. At the2008 Beijing Olympics , Pendleton won the gold medal in the Women's Individual Sprint Event.Palmarès
;1999:3rd Sprint,
British National Track Championships ;2000:3rd Sprint,
British National Track Championships ;2001:2nd Sprint,
British National Track Championships :2nd 500m Time Trial,British National Track Championships :2nd Scratch Race,British National Track Championships :3rd Points Race,British National Track Championships ;2002:1st flagicon|GBR Sprint,
British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR 500m Time Trial,British National Track Championships ;2003:1st flagicon|GBR Sprint,
British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR 500m Time Trial,British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR Keirin,British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR Scratch Race,British National Track Championships :3rd Points Race,British National Track Championships ;2004:1st flagicon|GBR Sprint,
British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR 500m Time Trial,British National Track Championships ;2005:1st flagiconUCI Sprint, World Track Championships:1st flagicon|GBR Sprint,
British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR 500m Time Trial,British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR Keirin,British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR Scratch Race,British National Track Championships ;2006:1st :2nd :2nd Sprint, World Track Championships:1st flagicon|GBR Sprint,
British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR 500m Time Trial,British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR Keirin,British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR Scratch Race,British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBRBritish National Derny Championships ;2007:1st flagiconUCI Sprint, World Track Championships:1st flagiconUCI Team Sprint (with
Shanaze Reade ), World Track Championships:1st flagiconUCI Keirin, World Track Championships:1st flagicon|GBR Sprint,British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR 500m Time Trial,British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR Keirin,British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBRBritish National Derny Championships ;2008:1st flagiconUCI Sprint, World Track Championships:1st flagiconUCI Team Sprint (with
Shanaze Reade ), World Track Championships:2nd flagiconUCI Keirin, World Track Championships:1st :1st flagicon|GBR Sprint,British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR Team Sprint (withAnna Blyth ),British National Track Championships :1st flagicon|GBR Keirin,British National Track Championships References
External links
* [http://www.victoriapendleton.co.uk/ Official Website]
* [http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/gbr/GBRiderInfo/Pendleton_Victoria_Bio.asp Profile at British Cycling]
*Off the Bike - Victoria hosts the British Cyclosportive DVD - [http://www.cyclefilm.com/britsportive.html Cyclefilm]
* Victoria's secrets - [http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cycling/osm/story/0,,2260308,00.html The Guardian]
* Victoria Pendleton's secrets - [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article3137815.ece The Times]
* [http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/cyclists/victoria-pendleton/ Profile at Cycling UK]
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