By . Louise Eccles . PUBLISHED: . 17:54 EST, 6 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 17:54 EST, 6 April 2012 . Hurtling along at 40mph, British cycling champion Victoria Pendleton went crashing to the floor yesterday after an accidental brush with her opponent. The 31-year-old suffered burns as she slid along the wooden track, shredding her red, white and blue outfit. Chances of her continuing to compete at the World Track Championships in Melbourne looked slender as Miss Pendleton lay in obvious pain while she received medical treatment. On track: Victoria Pendleton (right) alongside Anna Meares of Australia in the women's sprint semi finals . Losing her balance: Victoria begins to fall from her bike mid-race . But soon afterwards she was back in the saddle – and going for gold. Resuming her best-of-three races semi-final against Australian Anna Meares, she levelled the score at 1-1 when Meares was ruled to have strayed out of line. And in a dramatic deciding leg, she came out in top in a dramatic photo finish. In the final, Miss Pendleton won  2-0 against Lithuanian Simona Krupeckaite, who lost the second leg in the same manner as Miss Meares. After her victory, the all-conquering Briton received a congratulatory hug from her coach, Steve Peters. The cyclist looked tearful as she accepted her medal and modestly minimised the effects of her accident. Crashing out: It looks to be all over as she lies injured beside the track . The holes in her outfit show the force of the crash - and her painful burns. But she battles on and defeats Meares . She told journalists: ‘It’s not too . bad. My dad always said you don’t do track cycling unless you’re . prepared to crash. I could tell it was just surface wounds.’ Miss Meares said of the crash: ‘I was right next to her: I heard it, saw it and felt it, the vibrations through the wood. ‘For . her to pick herself up after that heavy fall and come back as hard as . she did is a mark of the woman and the great champion that she is.’ Miss . Pendleton, who grew up near Hitchin, Hertfordshire, now lives in . Manchester. Before yesterday’s drama, she had been in high spirits, . tweeting: ‘Just realised I have made the semi-finals in sprint at the . World Championships for a straight decade. #Notbadforaskinnybird.’ Back on the saddle: Victoria rides to victory in the final against Simona Krupeckaite, in yellow . Well done: Victoria gets a hug from her proud coach Steve Peters and she waves to the cheering crowd . Another golden moment: Victoria shows off her winner's medal in Melbourne . The . athlete, who is widely expected to win gold at the London Olympics, . will retire from cycling after the Games and marry her fiance, sports . scientist Scott Gardner. She . said recently: ‘It scares me more than it excites me, to be honest; the . added pressure of home turf and higher expectations.’ Miss . Pendleton has been one of the ‘faces’ of the home Games and has taken . part in glamorous photo shoots for numerous glossy magazines. But she . once admitted she has not always been confident about her body. ‘In . my childhood and my teens I had very low self-esteem and low . confidence,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t say I was depressed but I felt low . more than I felt good about life. ‘I . had very high expectations [of myself]. I wasn’t the best in class at . school, and I felt a little bit like a boy, physically.’
Victoria Pendleton received burns after falling from her bike... but was soon back in the saddle - and going for gold .
By . Louise Eccles . PUBLISHED: . 17:54 EST, 6 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 17:54 EST, 6 April 2012 . Hurtling along at 40mph, British cycling champion Victoria Pendleton went crashing to the floor yesterday after an accidental brush with her opponent. The 31-year-old suffered burns as she slid along the wooden track, shredding her red, white and blue outfit. Chances of her continuing to compete at the World Track Championships in Melbourne looked slender as Miss Pendleton lay in obvious pain while she received medical treatment. On track: Victoria Pendleton (right) alongside Anna Meares of Australia in the women's sprint semi finals . Losing her balance: Victoria begins to fall from her bike mid-race . But soon afterwards she was back in the saddle – and going for gold. Resuming her best-of-three races semi-final against Australian Anna Meares, she levelled the score at 1-1 when Meares was ruled to have strayed out of line. And in a dramatic deciding leg, she came out in top in a dramatic photo finish. In the final, Miss Pendleton won  2-0 against Lithuanian Simona Krupeckaite, who lost the second leg in the same manner as Miss Meares. After her victory, the all-conquering Briton received a congratulatory hug from her coach, Steve Peters. The cyclist looked tearful as she accepted her medal and modestly minimised the effects of her accident. Crashing out: It looks to be all over as she lies injured beside the track . The holes in her outfit show the force of the crash - and her painful burns. But she battles on and defeats Meares . She told journalists: ‘It’s not too . bad. My dad always said you don’t do track cycling unless you’re . prepared to crash. I could tell it was just surface wounds.’ Miss Meares said of the crash: ‘I was right next to her: I heard it, saw it and felt it, the vibrations through the wood. ‘For . her to pick herself up after that heavy fall and come back as hard as . she did is a mark of the woman and the great champion that she is.’ Miss . Pendleton, who grew up near Hitchin, Hertfordshire, now lives in . Manchester. Before yesterday’s drama, she had been in high spirits, . tweeting: ‘Just realised I have made the semi-finals in sprint at the . World Championships for a straight decade. #Notbadforaskinnybird.’ Back on the saddle: Victoria rides to victory in the final against Simona Krupeckaite, in yellow . Well done: Victoria gets a hug from her proud coach Steve Peters and she waves to the cheering crowd . Another golden moment: Victoria shows off her winner's medal in Melbourne . The . athlete, who is widely expected to win gold at the London Olympics, . will retire from cycling after the Games and marry her fiance, sports . scientist Scott Gardner. She . said recently: ‘It scares me more than it excites me, to be honest; the . added pressure of home turf and higher expectations.’ Miss . Pendleton has been one of the ‘faces’ of the home Games and has taken . part in glamorous photo shoots for numerous glossy magazines. But she . once admitted she has not always been confident about her body. ‘In . my childhood and my teens I had very low self-esteem and low . confidence,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t say I was depressed but I felt low . more than I felt good about life. ‘I . had very high expectations [of myself]. I wasn’t the best in class at . school, and I felt a little bit like a boy, physically.’
Victoria begins to fall from her bike mid-race . But soon afterwards she was back in the saddle – and going for gold. Resuming her best-of-three