No gold, but a new glamour shot and a £1m-a-year silver lining for Victoria
- The Olympic sensation added a silver medal to her 2012 and 2008 golds in front of a rousing crowd at the Velodrome
- Victoria was disqualified in the first of three finals with Meares after making contact in the final sprint to the finish
- Marketing experts said Pendleton could now earn £1million a year with deals
- New face of hair product company
By PAUL HARRIS
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Tressed for success: Victoria Pendleton in a photoshoot to advertise a shampoo brand
Victoria Pendleton rode tearfully into the sunset last night with her dream of a golden goodbye indelibly tainted by a final clash with her biggest rival.
The Olympic sensation added a silver medal to her 2012 and 2008 golds in front of a rousing crowd at the Velodrome – then began her retirement without wearing the crown of the most highly decorated woman athlete of all time.
She failed to trounce her Australian arch enemy Anna Meares – a win that would finally have laid to rest the controversy, competition and cat-fighting between them.
Victoria was disqualified in the first of three finals with Meares after making contact in the final sprint to the finish, a decision that filled the arena with booing and countless faces frozen in disbelief.
She appeared to mouth ‘she touched me first!’ as the judges huddled around screens and played the photo finish over and over again.
Then – clearly shaken by the referee’s decision to relegate her – she was beaten to gold in the next race by a powerhouse performance from the 28-year-old Australian.
But here’s the good news. Marketing experts said Pendleton could now earn £1million a year with deals promoting lifestyle, fashion and make-up, as well as earning up to £20,000 a time on the corporate speaking circuit.
And her silver success yesterday – combined with another gold each for Sir Chris Hoy and 20-year-old Laura Trott – also dramatically bolstered Team GB’s ever growing medal tally. Whatever the result, the crowd still adored Vicky, Vicky, Vicky!
This was Last Night of the Velodrome, a Land of Hope and Glory for the people and one last hurrah for Queen Victoria. Despite the disappointment, spectators gave a rousing, raucous send-off for the highest-profile female cyclist of all time before she effectively handed over the challenge to Laura.
Holding her medal aloft, she waved farewell at precisely 6.40pm with the newcomer looking on. The Queen had stepped down. Long live the Queen.
Her appearance here in the last of the cycling events at the Games will still go down as one of the most exciting finishes to an Olympic race – and to a glittering career – ever witnessed.
Every lap Victoria completed on the wooden track brought the crowd alive in an arena that is also known as the Thunderdome.
Every section she passed cranked the noise up like a bullet breaking the sound barrier.
Pendleton failed to trounce her Australian arch enemy Anna Meares - a win that would finally have laid to rest the controversy, competition and cat-fighting between them
It came not just from the 6,000-strong crowd or from her fiancé, family, or the impressive scattering of royal and VIP onlookers who clearly decided this was the one to watch.
Safe to assume it also came from the British ranks of an enormous TV audience around the world, and from a nation that has followed the 31-year-old poster girl and magazine pin-up from the moment she took the 2008 Games by storm.
At one stage the cameras caught princes William and Harry leaping to their feet and bellowing.
But oh, how much more satisfying for Britain it would have been if the outcome had been that little bit different.
But oh, how much more satisfying for Britain it would have been if the outcome had been that little bit different.
Victoria Pendleton waves to the crowd after winning the Silver Medal in the Women's Sprint Track Cycling Final
Pendleton poses with her silver medal. But marketing experts said Pendleton could now earn £1million a year with deals promoting lifestyle, fashion and make-up
This week Victoria, who beat Meares in Beijing and has repeatedly clashed with her since, took the opportunity to make public her views on the troublesome Australian.
In her Sunday newspaper Olympic column she wrote: ‘We are not best mates. I wouldn’t necessarily want to hang out with her. She’s not a bad person in any way. She’s very determined, very Australian . . .’
Contrast that with her reaction when Meares snatched gold from her grasp just before 6pm yesterday.
The British Olympic track cyclist Victoria pictured with her fiance and sports-performance scientist Scott Gardner
Beaten, disappointed and only just holding back the tears, Victoria somewhere found the reserve to coast alongside her opponent and offer congratulations.
It might have been last night of the Velodrome for Vicky, but to the Australian, it was Last night of the Poms.
First glory on this momentous session would go to Laura, the 5ft 4in pocket rocket from Essex.
‘Go Trott Go!’ said the slogan on the Union Flag her family waved from the crowd at the half way line – and blimey, did she ever.
Then it was Victoria’s turn. But in the long-running saga of her epic battle with Meares, disaster was about to strike.
By the time she stepped off her bike, she was in floods of tears.
Getting ready in her Olympic 2012 kit, pictured left, and showing off her glamorous side in a Pantene advert
She now plans to start building a normal life with her fiancé Scott Gardner, the ex-Team GB sports scientist who broke a golden rule by falling in love with his charge and was effectively cold-shouldered out of the squad.
They are set to marry next year.
Nor will she be short of an income. Pantene hair product company has chosen her as the face of its Pro-V ‘smooth and sleek’ range, reinforced yesterday with a photo of her in a figure-hugging dress.
There is a suggestion she might appear on Strictly Come Dancing, while her father Max hinted that she might pursue a career in television.
Long after the race she was still to be seen walking on the track as if reluctant to leave. Then she found her fiancé in the front row and to cheers and applause they embraced.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2185146/No-gold-new-glamour-shot-1m-year-silver-lining-Victoria-Pendleton.html#ixzz22u8Vb4WH