Victoria Pendleton to race on Gold Cup day at Cheltenham

Double Olympic cycling champion Victoria Pendleton will ride at next week's Cheltenham Festival just over a year after becoming an amateur jockey.

The 35-year-old will race Pacha Du Polder in the Foxhunter Chase on Friday March 18, the final day of the festival.

Pendleton claimed her first win when she impressively led the Paul Nicholls-trained nine-year-old to a 29-length victory at Wincanton last week.

But she fell when well-placed to challenge on 10-1 shot Supreme Danehill at Kingston Blount on Saturday, leaving her Cheltenham hopes in the balance.

She has been given the go-ahead to make her festival debut by Nicholls and a team of experts, despite concerns over the succession of falls she has suffered since taking up the sport.

Pendleton, who won Olympic cycling gold medals in both 2008 and 2012, is delighted to have achieved the target she set for herself.

"We have always had the extremely ambitious target of riding competitively in the Foxhunter as our goal, so to be announcing that I have achieved this goal is a truly amazing feeling," she said.

Pendleton has been tutored by the experienced pair of Alan and Lawney Hill, while record 20-time champion jocket AP McCoy has also backed her Cheltenham bid.

But former rider John Francome, the third most successful National Hunt jockey of all time, said last month that she was "an accident waiting to happen" after being unseated at Fakenham.

Pendleton though is confident in her ability to put in a good performance on the horse owned by Andy Stewart.

"It is not a decision I have taken lightly -- I feel capable of being part of that race," she said.

"The whole journey has been a remarkable experience and I have a lot of lasting memories from the last 12 months.

"This has been no walk in the park, it has been physically demanding. I've had to dig deep, but I never wanted to give up.

"This is hugely exciting. There'll be a phenomenal crowd at Cheltenham and I am so excited. Getting round would be incredible.

"If I get round on the horse and complete the course I'll feel like that's a gold medal."
SourcE :AFP