Olympic fever has already hit the capital and with less than three weeks to go, the atheletes are stepping into the spotlight. We take a look at one of our Olympic heroes, Victoria Pendleton cyclist extraordinaire.

Victoria Pendleton Cyclist

(Image via The Sun)

Featured in Zest Magazine, cyclist Victoria Pendleton says: “I’m probably in the form of my life, and though I can’t control what my competitors are doing, I feel like I’m really ready for the Games.”

Victoria already holds Olympic gold from Bejing and is competing in three events this year. With 2012 being the last Olympics Victoria will compete at, the pressure is on for a good finish.

“While I’m incredibly excited about my last Olympics, in all honesty I’m also quite looking forward to 8 August, when it’s all over! I’ve been training for this all my life, so I can’t wait to celebrate – win or lose – and say thank you to all the people who’ve helped me along the way.”

Amongst those people, Victoria admits to feeling isolated during her early cycling years in a male-dominated world.

“People didn’t take me seriously because I was small and girlie and didn’t fit the cycling mould,’ she told Zest. ‘I didn’t need to cut off my hair and act like a bloke to be good at sport – I let my cycling do the talking.”

The Olympian thinks it’s important to show herself through her public personality;

“Some people think that by talking about my insecurities, I’m giving my competitors an advantage. I don’t agree. I’m letting people see that you don’t have to be a superhero to be successful. If being open gives someone else confidence, I’m happy.”

We can’t wait to cheer Victoria on this summer!

Check out our other Olympics Heroes.

Burlexe is a sensational London burlesque show inspired by the women who created the genre and perform the art. It fuses burlesque performance with storytelling, dancing with acting.

We look to influential and successful women as our inspiration and Victoria Pendleton cyclist is one such source.

Join us for the Burlexe show by booking your ticket.

(Main image from Celeb Youth)