'I genuinely enjoy getting dressed up and being girly': Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton gets her priorities straight as she poses for sexy new photoshoot

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:03 AM on 16th April 2011

She's the champion track cyclist whose hoping to achieve stardom when she competes in the London 2010 Olympics.
But sport isn't the only thing on Victoria Pendleton's mind, as she proved when she posed for a sexy new photoshoot for the Evening Standard's ES magazine.
The 30-year-old athlete dons tiny leotards and knee-high socks as she shows off her incredibly toned figure while pulling off some incredibly alluring poses on a bicycle in the new pictures.
And, in the accompanying interview, Pendleton insists she never used to feel pressurised into hiding her femininity, but now is proud to be a girly girl.

Sexy: Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton looks stunning in tiny leotards and knee-high socks in ES magazine

She told the magazine: 'It's a very strong stereotype, women in sport. When I first started racing internationally I would look at the girls and think, "My gosh, do I have to cut my hair off and get really big to show I'm committed?" There were a lot of doubters. People would say, "She's too small, too puny, too girly, why does she straighten her hair? She doesn't take it seriously."

'Well, because I have to sit in my room for hours before I compete, there's nothing else to do. You're not even supposed to move. So I get my eyeliner perfectly straight or do my hair.

'A lot of people assume I fulfill the role of a girly girl because I have to do it in order to be noticed but that's not it. I genuinely enjoy a good dress-up and always have done. I wouldn't want to change that for the world.'

Athletic: Victoria admits she is a real girly girl and loves getting dressed up for any occasion

And while Victoria looks incredible in the shots, including one slightly provocative one of her bump-free bottom, she admits she struggled with low self-esteem when she was younger.

Peachy: Victoria showed off her pert posterior in one shot

She said: 'In my childhood and my teens I had very low self-esteem and low confidence. 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.
'I was good at sport, but who cares? Boys don't like you if you're good at sport. I was an odd one out.'
But Victoria quickly realised there's nothing wrong with being good at sports, and has become one of the country's most promising athletes.
And while she missed out on a medal in the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics, Victoria was left devastated after finishing ninth in the women's sprint race.
She said: 'I fell apart. I've never cried so much in my entire life. I threw out all my kit from Athens.
'My mum tried to salvage some from the bin because she thought in the future I might regret it. When I found it I went absolutely off at her, which was horrible. I was so resentful of everything, and so disappointed in myself.'
However, Victoria said the disappointment spurred her on for further success, and working with mind coach Steve Peters has helped her even more.
She said: 'He broke me right down to the basics of what drives me. It was like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I wish someone had told me what he told me when I was 13. I would have been a much happier, reassured, more confident individual.'

Success: Pendleton is hoping to recreate her success at the London Olympics next year

Now the pressure is on for Victoria to perform well at the London Olympics next year - a prospect that is more than a little daunting for the athlete.
She said: 'It scares me more than it excites me, to be honest; the added pressure of home turf and higher expectations.
'But there are a lot of girly girls in the GB camp now, sitting at the dinner table going, "Ooh, that's a

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