It’s been a stressful past few months for Victoria Pendleton, who said in October that she was having nightmares about the 2012 Olympics, who admitted in February that she lacked the hunger she had four years ago, and who performed below her usual level at last weeks’ world track championships.
The Great Britain rider went into the Apeldoorn event as defending sprint champion, but had to settle for bronze medal in that discipline. She was also second in the team sprint with Jess Varnish, and seventh in the Keirin.
The London Olympics is a year and four months away. Pendleton needs to use that time to turn things around and to ensure that she’s back to her best by then. Reassuringly, she emerged from the championships saying that she was motivated rather than demoralised.
“I don't think I need to do anything to get myself up [again]," she told the Guardian. “I'm still really positive about getting to the Olympics in my best form and that is the important thing I've ever had to deal with in my life. It's the priority. I was a bit flat this year. I've been a bit frustrated with myself.”
Pendleton has said on several occasions that she doesn’t enjoy competition, mostly due to the pressure she feels to succeed. Much of that is self-inflicted, but the same perfectionist nature that imposes that pressure also drives her onwards.
Great Britain’s high performance director Dave Brailsford said yesterday that he believed Pendleton and Chris Hoy, who have both won multiple world titles and who took gold in the 2008 Games, may need an Olympics to get them fully motivated. His suggestion was that Apeldoorn may not have been big enough to spur them on.
Pendleton has said she feels that is the case, but also gave an additional reason in the build-up to her events. “I decided very early on in the season that if my performance was going to suffer slightly in Apeldoorn in order to be in better condition for next year, then I would accept it,” she told the Daily Express, referring to strength training that she had been doing in recent months. She suggested that this has blunted her speed somewhat.
“It is a hard decision and a hard statement to make because going into a World Championships there is a lot of expectation, but fundamentally my only goal is 2012. I want to be in the best position for that one week in my life. I don’t mind if I don’t win another world title between now and the Olympics. If I win at the Olympics, everything would be absolutely OK.”
She’ll head back to Britain ready for a break from training. Pendleton will clear her head and relax her legs for a while, then resume working hard. She has said that London 2012 will be her final Olympics, and quite possibly her last big event. She’s looking forward to getting on with the rest of her life, but very much wants to go out on top.