Pendleton won a total of nine world titles, including a record-equalling six in the individual sprint between 2005 and 2012. She also won world titles in the team sprint in both2007 and2008, as well as in the keirin in2007. At the2008 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in thesprint, and in the2012 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in thekeirin, as well as a silver medal in thesprint. She also became a Commonwealth Games champion in thesprint in 2006, and a European champion in the team sprint and keirin in2011. She retired from track cycling after the 2012 Games, and had a short career as ajockey from 2015–16. Riding Pacha Du Polder, she won her first race atWincanton in March 2016, and finished fifth in theFoxhunter Chase at theCheltenham Festival later that month.
Pendleton was born on 24 September 1980[4] to parents Max and Pauline. She has atwin brother, Alex, and an older sister, Nicola, and the family lived inStotfold, Bedfordshire, where she grew up.[4][6] Her father was a keen amateur cyclist and former British National 8 km grass track cycling champion. He would take the nine-year-old twins out racing at the weekends and create children's races for them to compete in. She joined Mildenhall Cycling Club,[7] and as a schoolgirl, she also playedhockey for Harpenden.[8][9] She attendedFearnhill School.[10]
At the age of nine, Pendleton rode her first race, a 400 m event, on the grass track atFordham. When she was 16, assistant national track coach, Marshall Thomas, invited her to a trial inManchester, where she cycled in avelodrome for the first time. Thomas then assumed coaching responsibilities from her father. At that time, she didn't envisage a career in cycling due to a lack of female role-models in the sport. She took a degree insports science atNorthumbria University,Newcastle upon Tyne,[11][12][13] and in her final year at university, she trained withBritish Cycling one week per month. After graduating in 2002, she became a full-time cyclist.[14]
Pendleton finished second in the 500 mtime trial, 30 kmpoints race and thesprint as well as recording a third-placed finish in thescratch race at the 2001British National Track Championships.[15] From 2002–04, she trained at theWorld Cycling Centre inSwitzerland, under the tutelage ofFrederic Magne.[16][17] Pendleton found the experience challenging, her wellbeing suffered, and she self-harmed. Pendleton frustrated Magne by veering away from her training programme and she explained "I had always feared letting down figures of authority, my dad most of all, and so I felt diminished by disappointing Fred."British Cycling sentpsychiatristSteve Peters to meet her. The two began working together, and this helped Pendleton.[13] She has since stated, "If it wasn't for Steve [Peters], I don't think I'd be cycling today."[12]
Pendleton competed at the2002 Commonwealth Games, where she finished fourth in the sprint. The following year, she recorded another fourth-place finish in the sprint at the2003 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.[18] In the2003 World Cup, she won the scratch race inSydney,[17] and the following year, she secured victory in the sprint at the2004 World Cup event inManchester.[19] She then finished fourth in the sprint at the2004 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.[18] At the2004 Summer Olympics, she finished sixth in the500 m time trial and ninth in thesprint.[20] Pendleton later said that she was "embarassed" by her results at the Olympics and admitted that she felt "overwhelmed" by the experience. She also considered quitting the sport. Reflecting back on the Games, Pendleton said "It was a disaster. I was totally underprepared to be in a competition at that level, psychologically and physically. I'd been basically thrown to the lions."[14][21][22] At the end of the year, she won the keirin at the2004-05 World Cup meeting inLos Angeles.[23]
In January, Pendleton competed in a subsequent meeting of the World Cup, which took place in Manchester. She claimed second place in the 500 m time trial.[24] She then won her first world title after finishing first in the sprint at the2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Los Angeles. She overcameAnna Meares in the semi-finals, before triumphing againstTamilla Abassova in the final. She became the first British woman to become a track cycling world champion sinceBeryl Burton in 1966, and the first British woman to becomeworld sprint champion. 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 coachShane 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."[25][26] At the2005–06 World Cup event in Manchester, Pendleton won the sprint and finished third in both the keirin and 500 m time trial.[27][28][29]
At the2006 Commonwealth Games inMelbourne, she won a silver medal in the500 m time trial (behind Anna Meares). She then defeated Meares in the final of thesprint to secure the gold medal.[30][31] The following month, at the2006 UCI Track Cycling World Championships inBordeaux, Pendleton was unable to defend her world sprint title. She finished in second position after she was beaten byNatalia Tsylinskaya in the final.[32][33] 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.[34][35] Pendleton won three gold medals at the Manchester leg of the2006-07 Track Cycling World Cup, securing victories in the sprint, keirin and 500 m time trial.[36]
Coming back from illness and a knee injury, Pendleton finished second in the sprint at the 2007–08 World Cup meeting inCopenhagen.[42] During her build-up to the Olympics, she won two world titles at the2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in thesprint (overcomingSimona Krupeckaite in the final), and theteam sprint (with Reade).[43] She was also second in thekeirin.[44] At the2008 Summer Olympics, Pendleton won the gold medal in thesprint. Her success made her the first British female cyclist to win a gold medal in the sprint at an Olympic Games.[45] She defeated Anna Meares in the final, and afterwards, she acknowledged the help that Steve Peters had had on her career since she started working with him. 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."[18]
In October 2008, Pendleton joined theSky+HD Trade Team.[46] In the2008-09 World Cup, she won three gold medals at the meeting in Manchester, triumphing in the keirin, sprint and 500 m time trial.[47]
At the2010 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Copenhagen, Pendleton again retained her worldsprint title. She defeated Anna Meares in the semi-finals before overcoming Guo in the final to achieve victory in the event for the fourth year in succession.[51] She also finished runner-up in thekierin.[52] Later that year, she won her ninth consecutiveBritish sprint title at the National Championships.[53] She also won the 500 m time trial for the eighth time, her 25th national track title overall. Pendleton chose not to participate at the2010 Commonwealth Games in order to focus on the upcomingEuropean Championships.[54] There, she won a silver medal in theteam sprint withJessica Varnish.[55] In the2010-11 World Cup, Pendleton won silver medals in the sprint and team sprint in Melbourne,[56][57] before securing gold medals in the team sprint and keirin inCali.[58][59]
At the2011 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Pendleton came second in theteam sprint (with Varnish), third in thesprint (losing to Anna Meares in the semi-finals), and finished seventh in thekeirin.[60][61] Her third-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."[62] Partnering Varnish, Pendleton won the team sprint in the National Championships.[63] At the2011 European Track Championships, Pendleton won theteam sprint[64] andkeirin titles, and finished eighth in thesprint.[65]
At the2012 Summer Olympics, Pendleton and Varnish broke the world record in the qualifying stages of theteam sprint before being relegated in the semi-finals due to an illegal change-over. Their world record was then beaten by China later in the event.[71] She recovered to win a gold medal in thekeirin, becoming the first British woman to win an individual gold medal at successive Olympic Games.[72][73] Pendleton set a new Olympic record of 10.724 seconds in the qualifiers of thesprint,[74] but lost in the final to Anna Meares. Pendleton was relegated in the first run, and beaten in the second run, to finish with the silver medal.[75] This was Pendleton's final competitive race before she retired from professional cycling.[76]
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.”[77] She also stated that her professional relationship with coach Shane Sutton had deteriorated between the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.[78] 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.”[79] In 2016, British Cycling carried out an in-house inquiry following allegations against Sutton by Pendleton's teammate Varnish. Sutton was cleared of all but one charge (usingsexist language), but in 2017, British Cycling conceded that the organisation's achievements had "come at too high a price."[9][80]
In March 2015, Pendleton, searching for a new challenge, announced that she was training to become ajockey with guidance from horse trainerPaul Nicholls. She stated that she had only ridden a horse for the first time a week previously, but it was her ambition to compete in theFoxhunter Chase at the 2016Cheltenham Festival.[81] In August 2015, she earned her amateur riders licence from theBritish Horseracing Authority,[82] and then made her competitive debut later that month, riding Royal Etiquette to a second-placed finish in the Betfair Novice Flat Amateur Riders' Handicap atRipon.[83] On 19 February 2016, Pendleton was unseated whilst riding Pachu du Polder atFakenham. It was her first race under National Hunt Rules.[84] She then secured her maiden victory on 2 March 2016, guiding the same horse to success atWincanton.[85]
On 18 March 2016, Pendleton, riding Pacha Du Polder, realized her aim of competing in the 2016 Foxhunter Chase atCheltenham, finishing fifth. She described the result as "probably the greatest achievement of my life." Afterwards, Nicholls said "It's great for the team that won the race, but for Victoria to finish fifth after all the doubters was superb. We would not have let it happen if we had a doubt."[86]
On 19 July 2017, at invitation ofEnglish Heritage, she spent a bootcamp day atKenilworth Castle to learn the basic trainings of the medieval sport ofjousting. 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."[87]
Pendleton featured on the cover of men's magazineFHM in 2009.[88] In 2012,Harper's Bazaar magazine named her as joint recipient of British Ambassador of the Year in their Women of the Year Awards.[89] In February 2012,Halfords released a Pendleton branded range of women's bikes including the Somerton, the Brooke, and the Dalby on which Pendleton herself had worked as a design consultant.[90] She was a brand ambassador forOral-B andPantene in the build-up to the 2012 Summer Olympics.[91] She was also the subject of aBBC television documentary titled Victoria Pendleton: Cycling's Golden Girl which aired in July 2012.[92]
In 2012, Pendleton was a contestant onseries 10 ofStrictly Come Dancing,[93][94] in which her professional partner wasBrendan Cole. She was the seventh of the fourteen celebrities to leave the show.[95] Pendleton's released an autobiography titledBetween the Lines in September 2012.[96][97]
At the2014 Conservative Party Conference, Pendleton introduced theSecretary of State for EducationNicky 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."[98]
In 2016, Pendleton partnered withClinique, joining as a Difference Maker for the Clinique Difference Initiative, with the aim to inspire women and support the provision of educational and healthcare support.[99]
In May 2018, Pendleton was forced to abandon a charityEverest ascent that she was doing with TV presenterBen Fogle. At Base Camp 2 (6400 m of altitude), she experiencedhypoxia which was caused by a shortage of oxygen.[100] It took her three weeks of antibiotics to get over chest and ear infections.[101] In 2019, Pendleton stated that she had suffered severedepression and had contemplated suicide after her failed Everest expedition. She revealed thatsurfing had helped her recovery and she subsequently became a patron of the Wave Project charity which utilises surfing as a therapy.[102][103]
In 2019, Pendleton competed onCelebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins forStand Up to Cancer (SU2C).[104] Pendleton was accused of creating a "toxic" atmosphere during the filming of TV showDon't Rock the Boat in November 2020 by crew mateCraig Charles.[105] In 2021, she co-commentated on the cycling as part of the BBC's Olympics coverage inTokyo.[106] In January 2025, she appeared on an episode of the TV showThe Dog House in which she adopted a rescuedRhodesian Ridgeback named Leilo.[107]
In 2012, TheRoyal Mail painted a postbox gold in Pendleton's hometown ofStotfold to honour her gold medal at the Olympic Games.[112] In 2012, the Royal Mail also released a set of commemorative stamps from the 2012 Olympics, with Pendleton's win in the keirin featuring on one.[113]
Pendleton's relationship with Scott Gardner, asports scientist with British Cycling's coaching team, caused problems, as it was considered to be unprofessional for two members of the team to be romantically involved. Following the 2008 Olympics, when it became more widely known, Gardner left the team, though he was later re-hired after Pendleton suffered a loss of form.[114][115] The couple married in September 2013.[116] They 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 also said the reaction left her "distraught".[79] In July 2018, she announced that they were separating.[117]
She is in a relationship with Louis Tinsley, an ex-SBS operator and co-founder of clothing firm ThruDark whom she met in 2019.[9][103] In June 2023, she announced that her brother, Alex, had died from a brain tumour.[118] In July 2024, Pendleton was madeHonorary Colonel and corps ambassador toHM Royal Marines.[119]
Pendleton has a tattoo of the song lyric 'Today is the greatest day I've ever known' fromThe Smashing Pumpkins' song "Today" on her arm.[120]
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Sprint
Sprint,World Track Championships
Sprint
Time trial[30]
Sprint,Olympic Games
500 m time trial[48]
Sprint[75]
UCI Track Cycling World Champions –Women's sprint
