Published: 23 August, 2012
by TOM FOOT

JUST a fortnight ago, Victoria Pendleton was at the Olympic Velodrome, tears streaming down her cheeks and making heart-shaped hand-gestures to her fiancé on a gold medal  podium.
It was a picture-book moment for the retiring 31-year-old – and another sensational gold medal for Team GB at the London 2012 games.

The world and Olympic champion sprint cyclist was back on her bike on Tuesday – this time turning heads on Hampstead Heath for a photo-shoot with bread makers Hovis.

“I am not a celebrity – I’m an athlete”, Ms Pendleton insisted as she visited Parliament Hill. “I normally wear a visor on my face – so people don’t really recognise me.”

One passing Heath jogger on Kite Hill did not need a double take. After making an ambitious sprint-dash past the photo-shoot he approached the cyclist and told her: “It’s an honour to share a path with you Miss Pendleton.”
Bizarrely, the man then walked over to a nearby bench and stripped completely naked while changing his running gear, inadvertently bearing his bottom towards the Olympic gold medallist.
Heath rangers warned him about public indecency in the presence of young children.

But nothing could take the gloss off Ms Pendleton’s visit to the Heath. She rode her special branded bike – with bags of brown Hovis bread in her front basket – up and down the path by the running track.

Later, she was asked to push her bike up the slope leading to Kite Hill. As our photographer snapped away, she asked: “Won’t the photos look silly? People will say, ‘why am I pushing a bike up a hill?’ I actually ride up hills.” She was observing strict City of London regulations prohibiting cyclists riding on some Heath roads.

Last week a case concluded with a cyclist spending the night in the cells after being held on the Heath for breaking the rules and then not giving his name.

Sitting down for an interview with Channel 5, Ms Pendleton said she would “love to go to Rio” for the 2016 Olympic Games, adding: “When you’re competing it’s difficult to see anything. I’d love to go as a spectator.”

She said she was a creature of “routine” who didn’t watch TV but would “always keep fit by going on my bike”.

Ms Pendleton was clearly impressed by the Heath and its spectacular views of St Paul’s, the Shard and Arsenal FC’s Emirates stadium. But she admitted she rarely cycled in central London, preferring “nice places like Winchmore Hill”.
Her cycle safety tips were to “stay out of the traffic”, she added.

Sadly, none of the Hovis Pendleton Cycle Routes she was promoting are anywhere near Camden – or north London for that matter, although there are plenty of great escape ideas for the countryside.

After just two hours, and a bit of sprucing from a personal stylist, she was clambering back into a City of London Range Rover and was whisked away for more photos by the Heath viaduct.

The Heath’s publicity chief Paul Maskell said: “How inspirational for Olympic hero Victoria Pendleton to visit Hampstead Heath. It really helps our Green to Gold campaign to become part of London’s Olympic legacy and to encourage all Londoners to use the City Corporation’s open spaces.
“We are becoming quite a magnet for top-drawer Olympians! After the Beijing games we welcomed swimming legend Michael Phelps – but to host a true British sporting icon is fantastic.”

On September 9, the Heath is holding a summer sporting spectacular at Parliament Hill with assault courses, climbing walls, football, tai chi, tennis, rugby, dodgeball, handball, theatrical performances and live music.