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Cyclingnews 2008 Reader Poll Results
Best female track rider
Pendleton takes another title
By Ben Atkins
 |
Despite suffering the disappointment of losing one of her three World titles on her home track in March (the roof may have literally come off the Manchester Velodrome had the USA's Jennie Reed not pipped her on the line in the Keirin) Great Britain's Victoria Pendleton held her nerve and her form all the way to Beijing to dominate the one event available to her; just as her male teammates had done before her. Were the women track riders given the same number of events as the men, she may well have come home a triple gold medallist as Chris Hoy did.
Another World and Olympic champion Marianne Vos took second after becoming the first rider in history to win rainbow jerseys on the road, on the track and in cyclo-cross. The Dutch 21-year-old, who has already become a legend in the sport, made the points races in Manchester and Beijing look almost too easy; the second of those going a long way to make up for previous disappointment in the Olympic road race.
Despite losing her World pursuit title and suffering a broken collarbone in Beijing, USA rider Sarah Hammer beat Australian Anna Meares to the final podium spot. Meares suffered a very mixed season herself after breaking her back in the Los Angeles World Cup event but returning to take Olympic silver behind Pendleton after their were worries that she’d possibly never walk again.
World and Olympic pursuit champion Rebecca Romero – whose transfer form rowing gets more headlines than her obvious track class – takes fifth, while Dutch scratch race World champion Ellen Van Dijk takes sixth. In seventh place is Great Britain prodigy (where do they keep finding them?) Lizzie Armitstead, who has been dominating the end of year World Cups with ease. Eighth goes to US Keirin World champion Jennie Reed, who spoiled Pendleton’s party in Manchester back in March. Ninth is Aussie points race champion, and World bronze medallist Belinda Goss, and rounding out the top ten is Great Britain’s Wendy Houvenaghel, who may well have been World and Olympic champion if Romero was still a rower
Results
Votes %age
1 Victoria Pendleton 2899 27.07
2 Marianne Vos 2000 18.67
3 Sarah Hammer 1849 17.26
4 Anna Meares 1841 17.19
5 Rebecca Romero 484 4.52
6 Eleonora Van Dijk 415 3.87
7 Lizzy Armistead 395 3.69
8 Jennie Reed 388 3.62
9 Belinda Goss 294 2.75
10 Wendy Houvenaghel 145 1.35
Total: 10710
