Olympic Gold for Cooke

Team GB - Schedule - BBCTV - Track Medals

Nicole Cooke won the Olympic Gold when she sprinted from a lead group of five to claim victory on August 10.

Sometimes in sport you really have to pinch yourself to confirm what you are witnessing is true, in 2004 Cooke faltered badly at the Athens road race and again at the final turn it all looked lost. But it was true!

The race had begun in pouring rain that pounded the riders causing a few crashes and trips into the very deep culverts to the side of the road. When world cyclo cross champion Hanka Kupfernagel of Germany went to the front she split the field and from thereon rider after rider was spit out the back.

On he first ascent of the 12 kilometre climb, Natalia Boyarskaya of Russia carved out a good lead. Britain's Emma Pooley gave chase and caught the Russian and the two became three when Tatiana Guderzo (Italy) joined them.

Behind, the Germans' chased hard and the three were caught, but again more selections were happening as the race was now down to the best in the world and rest scattered down the mountain.

With the rain relentlessly coming down, Zulfiya Zabirova (Kazakhstan) added pace and Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (France) had a brief foray on the front before she fell back.

The race winning move was sparked by Italy's Guderzo in the valley as they approached the finnish with some 12 kilometres to go.

Gudzero was joined by Cooke, Emma Johansson (Sweden), Christiane Soeder (Austria) and Linda Serup (Denmark). The five pulled out a lead, and despite some strong pulls by the Greman's and race favourite Marianne Vos (Netherlands), the chasers were not unified, which was just as well, because the leaders didn't look like they were working in great unison.

The leaders did enough for them to hold off the pack and when they dipped into the final turn with one kilometre left to race, the first four went through, but Cooke had been dropped. "I can't go round corners", Cooke said later and to the relief of all the Brit's she jumped back onto the lead wheels, and then with 200 metres to go she led from the front and held off the Johansson and Guderzo to win gold.

The pack crossed the line with Vos at the front 21 seconds down.

Afterward Cooke said that she knew that the GB team had a good chanceof winning and Emma Pooley's attack on the climb took pressure off her.

1 22 Nicole Cooke Great Britain 03:32:24 35.706
2 16 Emma Johansson Sweden
3 12 Tatiana Guderzo Italy
4 35 Christiane Soeder Austria 03:32:28 @ 0:04
5 55 Linda Serup Melanie Villumsen Denmark 03:32:33 @ 0:09
6 6 Marianne Vos Netherlands 03:32:45 @ 0:21
7 20 Priska Doppmann Switzerland
8 59 Paulina Brzezna Poland
9 29 Edita Pucinskaite Lithuania
10 60 Zulfiya Zabirova Kazakhstan
11 28 Jolanta Polikeviciute Lithuania
12 33 Yulia Martisova Russian Fed.
13 25 Christel Ferrier Bruneau France
14 27 Maryline Salvetat France
15 10 Noemi Cantele Italy
16 39 Min Gao China 03:32:52 @ 0:28
17 36 Leigh Hobson Canada
18 19 Nicole Brandli Switzerland
19 44 Anna Sanchis Spain
20 9 Trixi Worrack Germany
23 24 Emma Pooley Great Britain
35 23 Sharon Laws Great Britain