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Hottest girl on two wheels

Helen Tither
20/ 8/2008

DRESSING head to toe in skin-tight Lycra isn't every girl's idea of a good look. Memories of clingy PE kits are enough to put most of us off for life.

Wilmslow-based cycling star Victoria Pendleton, however, wears it well. So well, in fact, that when she bagged her first Olympic gold medal in Beijing yesterday the talk was not just about her sporting achievements - but how her model figure and good looks could transform her from girl-next-door to golden celebrity.

As our photoshoot with her at home reveals, 27-year-old Victoria has got what it takes to become sport's latest poster girl, with natural good looks and a relaxed sense of chic in jeans and a waistcoat. But how will she handle the switch from sportswoman to celeb?

Daring

While she has won six world championship golds already, so far her fame has been confined to sporty circles. Today, however, after that sensational triumph in the sprint, she is set to become a much more familiar face as her profile skyrockets and sponsorship deals flood in.

Will she shrink from fame? Not if a recent photoshoot with a Sunday newspaper was anything to go by. Stripped naked on her bike, the down-to-earth athlete revealed a much more daring side to her personality.

"I knew when I did the picture it would stir up a few opinions," she laughed at the time. "But I don't regret doing it.

"I hope it's positive in terms of people knowing what I am about and perhaps help stir up some interest for track cycling. Besides, taking your kit off isn't such a big deal."

With her toned physique, the pictures are a refreshing change to the thousands of skeletal celeb images that usually grace glossy magazines. Making Victoria something of a potential role model.

Glamourous

At the same time, it celebrates her femininity in a sport fuelled with machismo. With a training regime that demands serious weight-lifting at the gym, and the ability to turn mechanic and perform her own repairs, Victoria's day job has a definite tomboy feel.

Off the track, however, is a different story as she ditches the suit and helmet for a more glamorous look - even booking herself in for the odd manicure at The Lowry hotel when she doesn't have to clip her nails right down for racing purposes.

"Even some of my team-mates don't' recognise me," she says. "But hey, I do scrub up okay and I have been known to wear a dress occasionally."

In fact the former Northumbria University student, who was born in Stotfold in Bedfordshire but moved here to train at the velodrome, has precious little time to shop. When it comes to her love-life she remains tight-lipped. However, she does admit to enough spare time for a few girly hobbies, baking cakes and even a spot of dress-making.

"I love sewing, but you can't take a sewing machine away with you," she laughs. There wouldn't be room anyway, not with all those medals to pack.