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Victoria Pendleton

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Victoria Pendleton
CBE OLY
Pendleton in 2011
Personal information
Full nameVictoria Louise Pendleton
NicknameQueen Victoria[1]
Born (1980-09-24) 24 September 1980 (age 45)[2]
Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[2]
Weight60 kg (130 lb; 9.4 st)[2]
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineTrack
RoleRider
Rider typeSprinter
Amateur teams
1988–2004Mildenhall Cycling Club
2005VC St Raphael
Professional teams
2006–2007Science in Sport / Trek
2008–2012Sky Track Cycling
Medal record
Women's track cycling
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Keirin
Silver medal – second place 2012 London Sprint
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Los Angeles Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2007 Palma de Mallorca Team sprint
Gold medal – first place 2007 Palma de Mallorca Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2007 Palma de Mallorca Keirin
Gold medal – first place 2008 Manchester Team sprint
Gold medal – first place 2008 Manchester Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2009 Pruszków Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2010 Ballerup Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2012 Melbourne Sprint
Silver medal – second place 2006 Bordeaux Sprint
Silver medal – second place 2008 Manchester Keirin
Silver medal – second place 2009 Pruszków Team sprint
Silver medal – second place 2010 Ballerup Keirin
Silver medal – second place 2011 Apeldoorn Team sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Pruszków 500 m time trial
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Apeldoorn Sprint
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Apeldoorn Team sprint
Gold medal – first place 2011 Apeldoorn Keirin
Silver medal – second place 2010 Pruszków Team sprint
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Melbourne Sprint
Silver medal – second place 2006 Melbourne 500 m time trial

Victoria Louise Pendleton (born 24 September 1980) is a British former track cyclist who specialised in the sprint, team sprint and keirin disciplines. She is a former Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth champion. She won a total of three Olympic medals (two golds and one silver) during her career.

Pendleton won a total of nine world titles, including a record six in the individual sprint, dominating the event between 2005 and 2012. She also won world titles in the team sprint in both 2007 and 2008, as well as in the keirin in 2007. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in the sprint, and in the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in the keirin, as well as a silver medal in the sprint.

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to cycling. Pendleton is also a member of the European Cycling Union Hall of Fame.

Early life

[edit]

Pendleton and her twin brother Alex were born on 24 September 1980 at Stotfold, England. Her father, Max Pendleton, was a former British National 8 km grass track cycling champion.[3]

Career

[edit]

Early years

[edit]

Pendleton rode her first race, a 400m event, on the grass track at Mildenhall Cycling Club's Fordham Sports Day and Grass-Track meeting at nine. Pendleton showed her promise at 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 at Fearnhill School in Letchworth Garden City, and later a degree in Sport and Exercise Science by Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne. She enjoyed some success on the track as a student before graduating and becoming a full-time cyclist.[4][5]

Cycling career

[edit]

Pendleton won one bronze and three silver medals in the British National Track Championships in 2001, while still a student. Between 2002 and 2004 she was a trainee at the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland.[6] She qualified for the 2002 Commonwealth Games team, finishing fourth in the sprint. She again came fourth in the sprint at the 2003 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Stuttgart and the 2004 UCI Track Cycling 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 sixth in the 500 m time trial and ninth in the sprint.[7]

Pendleton won her first major medal with gold in the sprint at the 2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. She overcame Anna Meares in the semi-finals, before triumphing against Tamilla Abassova in the final. She became the first British woman to become a track cycling world champion since Beryl Burton in 1966. Afterwards, Pendleton acknowledged "Riding against Anna Meares in the semi-final was the hardest part of this. I'd never beaten her before and she nailed me in the Commonwealth Games [...] My coach Shane Sutton told me how much I wanted it and needed it and I just had to ride like it was the last race I would ever ride."[8]

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, she won silver in the 500 m time trial (behind Anna Meares). She then defeated Meares in the final of the sprint to secure the gold medal.[9][10] The following month, at the 2006 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Bordeaux, Pendleton could not defend her world sprint title. She finished in second position after she was beaten by Natalia Tsylinskaya in the final.[11] [12] In the keirin, an incident with rival Anna Meares caused Meares to be relegated, but Pendleton was left unable to challenge for a medal. Meares apologised afterwards, but the incident started a long-term rivalry between the pair.[13][14] Pendleton won three gold medals at the Manchester leg of the 2006-07 Track Cycling World Cup, securing victories in the sprint, keirin and 500 m time trial.[15]

At the 2007 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, she won the team sprint with Shanaze Reade,[16] the individual gold in the sprint, and a third gold in the keirin.[17] She crowned the year by being named Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year for 2007, becoming the first cyclist to win the award in its 20-year history.[18] Pendleton was also voted Sports Journalists' Association's sportswoman of the year for 2007.[19]

Pendleton celebrates winning the sprint at the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships

During her build-up to the Olympics she won two gold medals at the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in the sprint (overcoming Simona Krupeckaite in the final, and the team sprint, again with Reade.[20][21] She was also second in the keirin.[22] At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Pendleton won the gold medal in the sprint. She defeated Meares in the final, and afterwards, she acknowledged the help that psychiatrist Steve Peters had had on her career since she started working with him following the previous Olympic Games in 2004. Pendleton was critical of the Olympics, after only three medal events in track cycling were available for women, whereas there were seven medal events in the men's Olympic schedule. Only one of the women's races was in a discipline that Pendleton competed in, and she said she felt "sick" by the decision, and stated "I think something really does need to be done about that. It's just not fair - it wouldn't happen in other sports."[23] In the 2008-09 World Cup, Pendleton won three gold medals at the meeting in Manchester, triumphing in the keirin, sprint and 500 m time trial.[24]

She retained her world title in the sprint at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Pruszków, with a photo-finish victory over Willy Kanis. In addition to her world sprint title, Pendleton also won silver in the team sprint (with Shanaze Reade), and bronze in the 500 m time trial.[25] In the 2009–10 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics event in Manchester, Pendleton finished first in the sprint, and second in the 500 m time trial.[26][27]

At the 2010 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Ballerup, Pendleton again retained her world sprint tile. She defeated Meares in the semi-finals before overcoming Guo Shuang in the gold medal contest to achieve victory in the event for the fourth year in succession.[28] She also claimed a silver medal in the kierin.[29] Later that year, she won her ninth consecutive British sprint title at the National Championships.[30] She also won the 500 m time trial for the eighth time, her 25th national track title overall. Pendleton then chose not to participate at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in order to focus on the upcoming European Championships.[31] There, she won a silver medal in the team sprint with Jess Varnish.[32] In the 2010-11 World Cup, Pendleton won silver medals in the sprint and team sprint in Melbourne,[33][34] before securing gold medals in the team sprint and keirin in Cali.[35][36]

At the 2011 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Pendleton won a silver in the team sprint, a bronze medal in the sprint and finished seventh in the keirin.[37] Her second placed position in the sprint meant that she failed to become world sprint champion for the first time since 2006, and she later admitted that this had affected her confidence and led to self-doubt. She reflected, "The worst thing you can do is start doubting what you do. As soon as you start doubting your training programme and over-analysing it, you just start spiralling down. And I'm an emotional person."[38] Partnering Varnish, Pendleton won the team sprint in her only event at the British Championships.[39] At the 2011 European Track Championships, Pendleton won the team sprint[40] and keirin titles, but only came eighth in the sprint.[41]

In February 2012, Pendleton and Varnish set a new world team sprint record of 32.754 seconds, beating Kaarle McCulloch and Anna Meares of Australia at the Track World Cup in the London Velodrome.[42] In Pendleton's final 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, she won the sprint, her sixth world title in that discipline. She progressed past Meares in their semi-final on a photo finish before defeating Simona Krupeckaitė, winning 2–0 with the second win coming from a relegation to her opponent.[43] Pendleton finished without medals in her other two events, the keirin and the team sprint.[44][45]

Pendleton celebrates winning the keirin at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Pendleton and Varnish broke the world record in the qualifying stages of the team sprint before being relegated in the semi-finals.[46] She recovered to win a gold medal in the keirin.[47] Pendleton set a new Olympic record of 10.724 seconds in the qualifiers of the sprint[48] but lost in the final to Anna Meares, after being controversially relegated[49] in the first run, and being beaten in the second run, thus earning a silver medal. This was Pendleton's final competitive race before she retired from professional cycling.[50]

In 2016, Pendleton, reflecting on the end of her cycling career, revealed that she had not enjoyed the atmosphere at British Cycling, stating “I couldn’t stay working with those people,” adding, “If, four years ago, they’d made the changes that they’ve made now, I would’ve been a lot happier and probably would’ve performed better.”[51] Speaking about the aftermath of her silver medal in her final race at the Olympics, Pendleton has claimed, "My coaches left the village without saying goodbye. I didn’t expect them to. Why would they? They were glad to be rid of me.”[52]

Horse racing and other sports

[edit]

In March 2015, Pendleton announced her intention to become a jockey with the aim of competing at the Foxhunter Chase at the 2016 Cheltenham Festival, with guidance from horse trainer Paul Nicholls.[53] She made her competitive debut in August 2015, finishing second in the Betfair Novice Flat Amateur Riders' Handicap at Ripon riding Royal Etiquette.[54] She won her first race on 2 March 2016, guiding 5–4 favourite Pacha Du Polder to victory at Wincanton.[55]

On 18 March 2016, Pendleton, again riding Pacha Du Polder, achieved her ambition of participating in the 2016 Foxhunter Chase, at Cheltenham, outperforming many pundits' expectations by finishing fifth. She described the result as "probably the greatest achievement of my life".[56]

On 19 July 2017, at invitation of English Heritage, she spent a bootcamp day at Kenilworth Castle to learn the basic trainings of the medieval sport of jousting. She stated afterwards: "I have a huge amount of respect for the sport now – much greater than before – and I think people would be surprised to learn how numb your senses are when dressed in armour top-to-toe."[57]

Outside sport

[edit]
Gold postbox in honour of Pendleton in Stotfold

Pendleton featured on the cover of the July 2009 issue of men's magazine FHM.[58] She featured in the January 2012 issue of Harper's Bazaar magazine.[59] In February 2012, Halfords released a Pendleton branded range of women's bikes including the Somerton (a city bike), the Initial (a road bicycle) the Brooke and the Dalby (both hybrid bikes) on which Pendleton herself had worked as a design consultant.[60] She was a "brand ambassador" for Pantene hair-care products in the advent to London 2012.[61] She was the subject of a BBC television documentary which first aired in July 2012.[62]

Pendleton was a contestant on series 10 of Strictly Come Dancing,[63] in which her professional partner was Brendan Cole.[64] She was the seventh of the fourteen celebrities to leave the show.[65]

Pendleton's autobiography Between the Lines was published following her retirement in September 2012.[66][67]

At the 2014 Conservative Party Conference, Pendleton introduced the Secretary of State for Education Nicky Morgan before her keynote speech on 30 September, speaking about the importance of sport in education. She said, "if you want more children to leave school healthy and prepared for life in modern Britain, with everything that will be thrown at them, you might as well give them a sporting chance."[68]

In 2016, Pendleton partnered with Clinique, joining as a Difference Maker for the Clinique Difference Initiative, with an aim to inspire women and support the provision of educational and healthcare support.[69]

In May 2018, she was forced to abandon a charity Everest ascent that she was doing with TV presenter Ben Fogle at Base Camp 2 at 6400 m (20,977 ft) when she experienced hypoxia, caused by a lack of oxygen.[70] It took her three weeks of antibiotics to get over chest and ear infections.[71]

On Tuesday 23 July 2024, Pendleton was made Honorary Colonel and corps ambassador to HM Royal Marines alongside explorer Dwayne Fields.[72]

Personal life

[edit]

In 2009, Pendleton was made an MBE, and she received a CBE in 2013.[73][74][75]

Pendleton's relationship with Scott Gardner, a sports scientist with the British Cycling coaching team, caused some problems for the couple, as it was felt to be unprofessional for two members of the team to be romantically involved.[76] Following the 2008 Olympics, when it became more widely known, Gardner was obliged to leave the team, though he was later re-hired. Pendleton and Gardner married in September 2013.[77] The couple initially hid their relationship from other members of the team, and when the news came out, Pendleton said “They were so upset with me – disgusted, like I’d committed a crime," adding "But the relationship didn’t make me any less of an athlete or any less professional or any less successful." Pendleton said the reaction left her "distraught".[52] In July 2018, Pendleton announced the break up of her marriage.[78]

For her 30th birthday, Pendleton had a line from The Smashing Pumpkins' song "Today" tattooed onto her right arm.[79]

In 2019, Pendleton stated that she had suffered severe depression and had contemplated suicide after her failed Everest expedition, and an "unpleasant" divorce from her husband.[80][81][82]

In 2019, Pendleton competed on Channel 4's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins for Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C).[83] During COVID-19 in 2020, she posted on Instagram that she shared lockdown with Louis Tinsley, ex-SBS operator and co-founder of clothing firm ThruDark, whom she is dating.[81]

Pendleton was accused of creating a "toxic atmosphere" during the filming of ITV's Don't Rock the Boat in November 2020 by crew mate Craig Charles.[84][85] In 2021, she co-commentated on the women's road racing cycling final as part of the BBC's Olympic 2020 coverage as their pundit in Tokyo.[86][87] In January 2025, she appeared on an episode the Channel 4 show The Dog House in which she adopted a rescued Rhodesian Ridgeback named Leilo.[88]

In June 2023, she announced that her brother, Alex, had died from a brain tumour.[89]

Palmarès

[edit]

[90]

2002
National Track Championships
1st Sprint
1st 500 m time trial
2003
National Track Championships
1st Sprint
1st 500 m time trial
1st Keirin
1st Scratch race
2003 Track Cycling World Cup
1st Scratch Sydney
2004
National Track Championships
1st Sprint
1st 500 m time trial
2004 Track Cycling World Cup
1st Sprint, Manchester
3rd 500 m time trial, Manchester
2004-05 Track Cycling World Cup
1st Keirin, Los Angeles
2nd Sprint, Manchester
2nd 500 m time trial, Manchester
2005
1st Sprint, World Track Championships
National Track Championships
1st Sprint
1st 500 m time trial
1st Keirin
1st Scratch Race
2005-06 Track Cycling World Cup
2nd Sprint, Moscow
1st Sprint, Manchester
3rd Keirin, Manchester
3rd 500 m time trial, Manchester
2006
Commonwealth Games
1st Sprint
2nd Time trial
2nd Sprint, World Track Championships
National Track Championships
1st Sprint
1st 500 m time trial
1st Keirin
1st Scratch race
1st National Derny Championship
2006-07 Track Cycling World Cup
2nd Sprint, Sydney
1st Keirin, Moscow
1st Sprint, Manchester
1st 500 m time trial, Manchester
1st Keirin, Manchester
2007
World Track Championships
1st Sprint
1st Team sprint (with Shanaze Reade)
1st Keirin
National Track Championships
1st Sprint
1st 500 m time trial
1st Keirin
1st National Derny Championship
2007-08 Track Cycling World Cup
1st Keirin, Sydney
2nd Sprint, Beijing
2nd Sprint, Copenhagen
2008
1st Sprint, Olympic Games
World Track Championships
1st Sprint
1st Team sprint (with Shanaze Reade)
2nd Keirin
National Track Championships
1st Sprint
1st Team sprint (with Anna Blyth)
1st Keirin
3rd Sprint, Grand Prix de Vitesse de Saint Denis
2008-09 Track Cycling World Cup
1st Sprint, Manchester
1st Keirin, Manchester
1st 500 m time trial, Manchester
1st Sprint, Copenhagen
2009
World Track Championships
1st Sprint
2nd Team sprint (with Shanaze Reade)
3rd 500 m time trial
National Track Championships
1st 500 m time trial
1st Sprint
2009-10 Track Cycling World Cup
1st Sprint, Manchester
2nd 500 m time trial, Manchester
2010
World Track Championships
1st Sprint
2nd Keirin
2010-11 Track Cycling World Cup
2nd Team sprint (with Jessica Varnish), Melbourne
2nd Sprint, Melbourne
1st Team sprint (with Jessica Varnish), Cali
1st Keirin, Cali
2nd Sprint, Cali
3rd Sprint, Manchester
3rd Keirin, Manchester
National Championships
1st Sprint
1st 500 m time trial
2011
1st Team sprint (with Jessica Varnish), European Track Championships
World Track Championships
2nd Team sprint (with Jessica Varnish)
3rd Sprint
2011-12 Track Cycling World Cup
1st Team sprint (with Jessica Varnish), London
National Track Championships
1st Team sprint (with Jessica Varnish)
2012
Olympic Games
1st Keirin
2nd Sprint
1st Sprint, World Track Championships

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
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  3. ^ Fullbrook, Danny (14 October 2025). "Victoria Pendleton pays tribute to racing cyclist dad". BBC News. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  4. ^ Naughton, Philippe (6 January 2008). "Victoria Pendleton's secrets". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
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  72. ^ "Olympian Victoria Pendleton and explorer Dwayne Fields named as Royal Marines 'ambassadors'". Retrieved 23 October 2024.
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  82. ^ Elton, Danielle (12 July 2021). "Channel 4's The Dog House is looking for potential adopters". CambridgeshireLive. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  83. ^ "Victoria Pendleton compares Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins to Olympics: 'It's harder'". Radio Times. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  84. ^ "Craig Charles and Victoria Pendleton clash in "toxic" Don't Rock the Boat red crew". Radio Times. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  85. ^ "Don't Rock the Boat: Victoria Pendleton hits back at critics". HELLO!. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  86. ^ "All the Tokyo 2020 Olympics pundits on BBC – meet the presenters and commentators". Radio Times. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  87. ^ Benson, Daniel (25 July 2021). "Olympics: Shock gold for Anna Kiesenhofer in women's road race". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  88. ^ Olympic gold medallist Victoria Pendleton rescues homeless dog | The Dog House 🐶 | Dog Stories. Channel 4. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025 – via YouTube.
  89. ^ "Olympic champion Victoria Pendleton reveals heartbreak after twin brother dies". The Independent. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  90. ^ "Victoria Pendleton: Rider Profile". Cycling Weekly. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2025.

Bibliography

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