The 19-year-old suffered her first defeat for three years as she sacrificed the opportunity of settling for a silver medal by crashing as she chased the gold.

 

She said: “It is amazing.

 

"I can’t believe it.

 

"It means so much to me because the track is so close to my heart.”

 

Reade admits she has been overwhelmed by the reaction of the public since she returned from China.

 

She said: “The response has really, really shocked me.

 

"I wasn’t sure how the public would view what I did.

 

"My family can’t believe the support they’ve had.

 

"People have sent flowers, champagne and even money.

 

“Maybe it hasn’t happened before that someone has sacrificed a certain silver to go for gold.

 

"But the support has really helped me get through this time.”

 

Reade suffered hamstring and hand injuries when she crashed trying to get past Frenchwoman Anna-Caroline Chausson on the final bend but instead clipped her rear wheel.

 

She said: “I am already learning from the Beijing experience.

 

"I am only 19 and it could make me or break me, but I will use it to come back stronger than ever.

 

“Despite my own disappointment, it was amazing to be part of the most successful GB team for 100 years.

 

“But I was gutted at the closing ceremony because I was supposed to ride behind the double decker bus which carried David Beckham, but I was too injured to do it.

 

“I’ll be aiming for gold in London, but I am also thinking about the Commonwealth Games [in New Delhi in 2010].

 

"There won’t be BMX racing there, but maybe I’ll try to expand my sprint cycling in the velodrome."