Victoria Pendleton has always been a different type of athlete. Driven but not afraid of admitting her frailties, searingly honest, even when it’s got her in trouble.
In the build-up to the London Olympics she admitted that she dreaded the pressure and the expectation.
“When your heart’s going to beat out your chest and the crowd are making so much noise you can’t hear yourself think. At what point does that ever become enjoyable?” she said.
Quite how Pendleton’s going to feel at 4pm this afternoon, when she goes to post in the St James’s Palace Foxhunter Chase, the amateur riders’ Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival, is therefore anyone’s guess.
The roar from Cheltenham’s always packed stands shakes the Cotswold Hills and nothing quite gets the heart pounding like jumps racing.
Ahead of her and the Paul Nicholls-trained Pacha da Polder will be 22 4ft 8in fences, bigger than she’s ever jumped. They’ll be a water jump, which she’s never negotiated before. The race will be the furthest distance she’s ever tackled and she’ll be facing 23 rivals, the biggest field she’s ever taken on.
It’s a good job Pendleton thrives on adversity, even if she doesn’t really like it.
At the London 2012 Olympics, Pendleton and team sprint partner Jess Varnish were disqualified and yet 24 hours later she won gold in the keirin, so it certainly doesn’t pay to write her off.
But it’s a desire not to have the rest of her life defined by her Olympic successes that motivates Pendleton in this dangerous challenge.
Irish jockey JT McNamara is one of the most talented amateur jockeys of all-time, winning over 600 races, including the Foxhunter Chase in 2013 and three other races at the Festival.
But three years ago at Cheltenham he suffered a horror fall which left him paralysed, which is why Pendleton’s courage shouldn’t be doubted.
Some have questioned her motives, especially as 14 months ago she’d not even sat on a horse and is now flying through the air at 35mph with a half-tonne animal beneath her.
However, it’s clear that it’s a desire to fill the void left by the end of her storied cycling career that is driving her on.
“I’ve always loved a challenge and I’d been struggling to get enthused about anything after the Olympics in London,” said Pendleton.
“I’ve been totally inspired by this challenge. I mucked out a few horses when I did my work experience at GCSEs but nothing else, so this has been a steep learning curve to say the least.
[quote:“I think people underestimated the amount of transferable skills I get from cycling. You use very similar muscle groups and core stability is very important: Victoria Pendleton:left] “There’s been some sceptics but on the whole people in racing have been so supportive and encouraging because they realise I’m bringing a different kind of audience to their sport.
“For me getting around on the horse would be a win and I’d be delighted. I’ve got realistic expectations.”
Pendleton always used to say she loved training but not competing and it’s clear she has been quick to develop a deep affinity with horse racing’s close knit community.
She comes alive when talking about riding out and schooling and just being around the sport, underlined by the video diaries she’s been posting throughout this challenge of her daily training at the Lawney Hill Stables in Oxfordshire.
“I love everything about horses, their smell or just the sound of them munching hay,” she added.
“I’m just blessed to be having this experience, not many people get it and I’m aware how exclusive it is and just racing at a place like the Cheltenham Festival is an honour.
“Being on a horse on the gallops, seeing their ears prick up, it is just so special. It feels amazing when their timing is right.
“I think people underestimated the amount of transferable skills I get from cycling. You use very similar muscle groups and core stability is very important.
“I’ve also spent all my life performing under pressure and taking instructions and not being overwhelmed by situations, that has really helped me.
“You need to stay calm and relaxed because horses are so intuitive, that’s been a very interesting learning curve for me. I’ve also got a very experienced horse, he knows what he’s doing and is extremely smart.”
In the last ten renewals of the Foxhunter Chase there have been 236 runners and only 120 finishers, underlining just how hard this challenge is.
To borrow from the Olympic motto, it really is the taking part that matters.
It’s 35 years since the last A-lister competed at the Cheltenham Festival, Prince Charles negotiated the first nine fences in the race before he parted company with horse Good Prospect and was left with a bloody nose.
Queen Vic is ready to see that achievement and raise it, taking inspiration from those who support her - from Nicholls to Sir Anthony McCoy and her many fans - and the tattoo on her right arm, a lyric from a Smashing Pumpkins song that she says sums up her life philosophy.
‘Today is the greatest day I've ever known," it reads. Time will tell, time will tell. By James Toney, Sportsbeat Sportsbeat 2016