Britain’s Victoria Pendleton has retained her spot as the world’s leading sprint cyclist after winning her fourth successive title at the Track Cycling World Championships in Copenhagen.
After beating Australian Anna Meares in the semi-final, she raced against China’s Shuang Guo in the final event. But the Olympic champion suffered a nasty fall in the final, hurting her elbows in the process.
“I haven’t done any damage, it was a gentle crash – if you can have one of those,” Pendleton explained.
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“It didn’t faze me because it is difficult to do much damage when you are going at that sort of speed. I caught my elbow a little bit and that’s it.
“In fact, when you crash you get a bit of an adrenaline rush because you obviously don’t expect it, and it can help you get up and get stuck in.”
Pendleton has now won this event five times in six years.
Fellow Brit Lizzie Armitstead narrowly missed out on a world title after finishing in the silver spot in the five-discipline omnium. It’s the fist time this event has been held since its introduction to the Olympic programme.
Both medallists will race again today. Pendleton will be hoping to add the keirin title to her sprint crown. While 21 year old Armitstead will race in the 25km points race.
Louise Hudson, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
