Queen Victoria the Second

Just back from the World Cycling Championships staged in a suburb of Warsaw. Don't be fooled by GB's relatively poor showing in terms of medals compared to last year's Olympics and world championships. They came to Poland without three of their four medal-winning big hitters from the Beijing Olympics, Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins and Rebecca Romero, and a consequently young team promised much for the future. The one big-hitting exception was Victoria Pendleton who backed up her Olympic gold in the women's individual sprint with a successful defence of her world title, making her the first cyclist to win a world title one year after becoming Olympic champion for many, many years. This is the girl who somehow found herself not even in the BBC's shortlist of ten for the Sports Personality of the Year award last December. In Poland she proved herself to be a true champion and led the GB team as a result with her guts and class. In a year featuring the Ashes and a Lions tour she may not become the 2009 BBC Sports Personality of the Year, but she's already on my short-list, and pushing hard for a podium place. She's also a very smooth driver, as she proved when she gave me a lift the other week in Manchester in her 4x4 while I held a mug of tea in my hand. Not a drop was spilled! She's a smooth driver and a very smooth operator.