161. Victoria Pendleton: Fear and change

This week, Robyn and Will are joined by one of British Cycling’s most decorated track riders, Victoria Pendleton. Over a career that spanned more than a decade, Victoria won two Olympic gold medals and one silver, nine World Championships, two European Championships and the Commonwealth Games, although arguably her biggest contribution to cycling was her legacy. Along with Team GB alumni such as Laura Kenny, Joanna Rowsell, Bradley Wiggins and Chris Hoy, Victoria helped inspire a generation of young riders and helped put British cyclists on the map, and propelled cycling as a sport into the British mainstream.

However, Victoria’s relationship with cycling hasn’t always been a happy one. She retired after the 2012 Olympics stating she’d achieved everything she set out to do on a bike, only later to reveal that she found the British Cycling programme increasingly difficult to be a part of, and latterly coming out in support of former teammate Jessica Varnish's allegations about the BC culture, which in part led to the resignation of coach Shane Sutton amid wider allegations of sexism and discrimination.

In 2015, Victoria switched a bike for a horse, and by 2016 she had completed ‘probably the greatest achievement of my life’ when she finished fifth in the Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham. Occasional sports commentary and multiple TV show appearances have kept her busy since, and earlier this year she released her psychology book,The Fear Opportunity, which draws on her experiences as both an athlete and in day-to-day life. In this episode, Victoria discusses her own fear of failure and change, the impact of the media and external noise, women’s progress in sport and the psychology of mental resilience.

Chat begins at 6.44

Check out Victoria's new book, The Fear Opportunity (Pan Macmillan) here

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This episode is brought to you by the Maserati Grecale SUV car. For more information, go to maserati.com

...and the Green Commute Initiative, the leading provider of the Government's Cycle to Work Scheme, which can help you save up to 47% off the cost of a new bike. See greencommuteinitiative.uk for more details

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