Victoria Pendleton's closest rival Anna Meares, who beat her yesterday in the individual sprint final, has praised the response of the 31-year-old after her victory.

In the immediate aftermath of Meares taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the sprint, Pendleton raised the arm of the Australian in congratulations and Meares has praised the sportsmanship of her rival.

"Last night Victoria showed great sportsmanship," Eurosport quotes Meares as saying.

"It would have been very difficult to have been beaten in front of a home crowd, especially one as patriotic and as loud as that.

"It happened so promptly after she was defeated that it was instant reaction and it showed the high-quality character and person that Victoria is."

Pendleton has now retired from competition.