Tag: Victoria Pendleton

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GB Back on Tracks

Something of an 11th hour come-back for Great Britain at the final day of competition at the European Track Championships in Apeldoorn, Holland with Victoria Pendleton, Matt Crampton, Laura Trott and Ed Clancy all taking gold after a couple of days of sometimes agonising trials. Following an opening day that saw three golds for Team GB, day two unfolded as something of a disaster with Jason Kenny just scraping fourth in the Men�s Sprint, Pendleton losing out at the quarter-final stage of the Women�s Individual Sprint, Jess Varnish failing to set the track alight and Chris Hoy withdrawing from competition with the flu.

 

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Pot(hole) Luck

News reaches Cyclo that a simply jaw-dropping �10 billion may be required to fix the UK�s increasing pothole problem, with an annual shortfall somewhere in the region of a �895m on the highways maintenance budget. The disturbing figures come from the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey produced by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (for there is such a thing) and are, naturally, of concern for any cyclist that regularly runs the gauntlet.

 

At current maintenance levels, the average frequency for a road to be resurfaced and fully repaired is once every 65 years in England and once every 81 years for Wales. Yes, you read that correctly.

 

As a potential crumb of some comfort the construction company Aggregate Industries has joined forces with the CTC � the National cyclists’ organisation, who launched their fillthathole website back in 2007 � to reward the most proactive councils. Two categories are up for grabs, one for the council with the highest percentage of potholes fixed, and a �People�s Choice� voted on by the public via the website. Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton has put her weight behind the awards too, commenting that: “I’m getting involved because anything that showcases pothole repairs and encourages councils to improve their roads has to be a good thing for both cyclists and motorists.� Pendleton also gets to meet the winning councils later this year. Lucky lady.

 

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Aussie Rules

So, not a bad haul of medals for Great Britain as the UCI Track Cycling World Championships draws to a close after five days of fierce competition in the Netherlands. But it wasn�t without its upsets and GB, despite ending fourth in the medal tables, were certainly down significantly on last year�s total of three golds, five silvers, one bronze; managing here just a solitary gold (Women�s Team Pursuit), plus three silver and five bronze. Meanwhile Australia blazed their way to a magnificent eight golds with 11 medal wins.

 

Australia’s Anna Meares ended Victoria Pendleton’s chance of a fifth consecutive world sprint title eliminating her in the semi-final stage in a battle which was as nerve jangling to watch as it must have been to participate in. Both riders displaying as much psychological grit and mind-game as raw power; but in the end it was Pendleton that cracked and Meares that went on to prove that this year�s Championships truly were an Aussie affair as she made comfortable work of defeating Lithuania�s Simona Krupeckaite 2-0 in the final to take her first sprint world title.

 

Things took an equally disappointing turn for Sir Chris Hoy who had to settle for silver in the men’s keirin as he was narrowly squeezed out by Australian Shane Perkins in the final few meters.

 

Still, there�s more than a year to go to the Olympics, right?

 

For full results, see:www.worldchamptrackcycling.com

 

 

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Gold for Women�s Team Pursuit

By the midway point of this year�s UCI Track Cycling World Championships (March 23 � 27) Great Britain�s Women�s Team Pursuit trio have taken gold with a blistering performance in the Netherlands. After setting the fastest qualifying time of 3:23.642, the relatively newly formed team of Wendy Houvenaghel, Laura Trott and Dani King (the latter two making their World Championship debuts) stormed home in the finals with a winning time of 3:23.419 holding the USA in silver medal position (3:25.308) and New Zealand in bronze (3:24.065). The success marks veteran Houvenaghel�s third title.

 

But in the Women�s Team Sprint final British pair Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Varnish had to settle for silver with a time of 33.525 behind Kaarle McCulloch and Anna Meares (Australia) who scored a gold place with their time of 33.237. China took bronze.

 

There�s still plenty of time over the next few days for GB to pick up further wins and boost their confidence pre-2012 Games; Cyclo will bring you more news and results from the Championships over the weekend.

 

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Cycletta

Cycletta, a new initiative to encourage more women to take to the saddle, has been launched by Olympic Gold medallist Victoria Pendleton. The scheme, supported by Sky and British Cycling, kicks off with two mass participation events in 2011: Cycletta North, June 26 (Tatton Park, Cheshire) and Cycletta South, September 11 (Whipsnade, Bedfordshire) both serving up 40km traffic-free courses designed to appeal to both experienced riders and those looking to up their game and improve confidence. Individual event entry is �45 with a �10 discount for participation in both events (go on, you know you want to); registration includes hints and tips on training, preparation and event strategies with the emphasis firmly on cooperation and teamwork.

 

More info at: www.cycletta.co.uk