Professional Sports Group

Victoria is the golden girl of British cycling.  After winning Gold at the Olympic Games in Beijing she is now the reigning World and Olympic Champion for the Sprint. Victoria’s success has made her one of the most high profile female Olympians in the UK.

Encouraged by her father’s enthusiasm for cycling, Victoria and her twin brother started grass track racing as a hobby aged 9.  At 16, after some good results, she was talent spotted by a national track coach although despite his efforts to encourage her to train full-time, she decided to concentrate on her GCSE’s and A-levels. After school Victoria went to Northumbria University to study Sport and Exercise Science, graduating with a 2:1. 

Whilst there she continued cycling and inspired by Jason Queally’s Olympic Gold medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Victoria started training with the GB track cycling squad. She quickly earned her place on the England Potential Programme (2001) and was then selected on to the World Class Performance Programme (WCPP) the following year, despite some scepticism that she was too slight to be a sprinter!

In her first year on the WCPP Victoria won the National Championships in the Sprint and 500m and earned the opportunity to attend an international training academy (U.C.I. World Cycling Centre) in Aigle, Switzerland for two seasons leading up to the Athens Olympics.  Despite a disappointing performance at her first Olympic Games, Victoria went on to become World Sprint Champion in 2005 and Commonwealth Sprint Champion in 2006.  She also won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games and World Championships in the same year.

In 2007, Victoria made history when she won an unprecedented three World Championship Gold medals, establishing herself as the World’s best female track cyclist.  Currently a member of British Cycling’s Olympic Podium Programme, Victoria lives and trains in Manchester where in the 2008 World Championships she won two Gold and one Silver medal.   After winning Gold at the Beijing Olympics Victoria now has her sights set firmly on success in London 2012.

International Events
2008 Gold - World Cup, Manchester, 500m TT
2008 Gold - World Cup, Manchester, Kierin
2008 Gold - World Cup, Manchester, Sprint
2008 Gold - Olympic Games, Beijing, Sprint
2008 Gold - World Championships, Team Sprint
2008 Gold - World Championships, Sprint
2008 Silver - World Championships, Keirin
2007 Gold – World Cup (Sydney) Keirin
2007 Gold - World Championships Keirin
2007 Gold - World Championships, Sprint
2007 Gold - World Championships, Team Sprint
2007 Gold – World Cup (Manchester), Sprint
2007 Gold – World Cup (Manchester), 500m
2007 Gold – World Cup (Manchester), Keirin
2007 Silver - World Cup (Sydney), Sprint
2007 Gold - World Cup (Moscow), Keirin
2006 Gold - Commonwealth Games, Sprint
2006 Silver - Commonwealth Games, 500mTT
2006 Silver - World Cup (Moscow), Sprint
2006 Gold - World Cup (Manchester), Sprint
2006 Silver - World Championships, Sprint
2005 Gold - World Championships, Sprint
2005 Gold - World Cup (Los Angeles), Keirin

Records
Olympic record Sprint 10.963 (2008 Olympic Games Beijing)
National record Sprint 10.904 (2008 World Championships )
National record 200m TT 11.037 (World Cup Moscow)
National record 500m TT 34.070 (World Cup Manchester)
World best/record Team sprint (with S. Reade) 33.630sec (2007 World Championships)

Awards
2007 – Sunday Times Sports Woman of the Year
2007 – Sports Journalist Associations Sports Woman of the Year