Get on your bike with Victoria Pendleton

Due to start six weeks of warm weather training in Perth before March’s World Championships in Copenhagen, Victoria Pendleton - Olympic cycling champion - is encouraging a new generation to get on their bikes.

Unveiled as the new Hovis ambassador as part of a three year sponsorship deal which includes a series of healthy eating initiatives and educational campaigns, it is hoped the cycling star will be a source of inspiration as Hovis’ new ‘Girl on a Bike’.

Pendleton, 29, first rode for Great Britain in 2002. She won Olympic Sprint Gold in Beijing and a recent overhaul of the Olympic track cycling programme means she has the chance to emulate Sir Chris Hoy and claim three gold medals in London in 2012.

Working with Hovis, she says “I hope to inspire a new generation of ‘girls and boys on bikes’ who enjoy cycling as much as I did when I was younger and maybe even inspire some champions of the future.”

It was back in 1973 that Hovis launched a TV ad that was to become the nation’s favourite-ever ad, "Boy on Bike", directed by Ridley Scott.

The ad was filmed on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset and the iconic bike image is the first thing many people recall when thinking of Britain’s most famous breadmaker.

We spoke to Victoria ahead of her departure from UK shores to talk about her plans for the World Championships and Commonwealth Games; the impact of the IOC’s recent decision; being a source of inspiration for young people and how she feels about being the new ‘Girl on a Bike’.

For more information visit hovisbakery.co.uk.