Nicole Cooke yesterday gave the perfect riposte to those who doubted her appetite for the fight by winning the World Road Race title in Varese, Italy for the first time. In a masterful display, Cooke and her British team mates coped with whatever the race threw at them, having someone in the decisive breaks and chasing down every move to leave Nicole with the task of nailing the sprint for the line. This she duly did out-gunning her Dutch rival Marianne Vos to win by a bike length. In what turned out to be a thrilling compeitive race the British team of Cooke, Emma Pooley, Elizabeth Armistead, Sharon Laws, and Jessica Allen never lost their nerve and rode an intelligent race. Afterwards Cooke was quick to praise the efforts of her team mates in putting her in a position to win. "When I started the race I was very relaxed because I’d already achieved my goal for the year which was to win the Olympics. "But I was set up perfectly by my team-mates. What more can you ask for?" Surprisingly though before the race many pundits mistook here relaxed demeanour for a lack of hunger and were predicting that Cooke might not be up for the fight because of her Olympic Gold in Beijing. This proved to be a fundamental mis-reading of what drives Nicole Cooke, she is the supreme competitor – Cooke only races to win. Ironically in the past when up against more tactically astute opponents this had sometimes been her undoing. In the last couple of seasons though Cooke has begun to marry her massive talent, and will to win, with a greater tactical maturity. It also seems to have dawned on her that bicycle racing is a team sport – success is not just about being the best rider, having a good team around you being prepared to put it on the line. Team GB are certainly prepared to do that. One other factor that may well have spurred Cooke on, at some level at least, is the realisation that the 23-year old Vos looks like she has a talent to match her own. Yesterday’s race suggests that these two will be battling it out for the big prizes for the next few years. Although she dominated the Worlds as a junior, Cooke has never taken the senior title, her best results being two bronzes and a silver. A group of 12 riders inluding the American Kristin Armstrong and Team GB’s Eliszabeth Armistead, lead the field for most of the 86-mile (138.4 kilometre) race, at one time getting as far as 2 minutes up on the main field. Emma Pooley (GB), attacking off the front of the main field eventually brought the chasing pack up to the escape – just as the race entered it’s final lap. This set things up for five riders to contest the medal placings – Cooke, Vos, Arndt, German Trixi Worrack and Sweden’s Emma Johansson. The two Germans, Arndt and Worrack, then launched a series of attacks to try and break their rivals – Johansson then appeared to get the drop on the others by going for a long-range finish with 2km to go. Vos though chased her down but at the same time also pulled Cooke up and Nicole then put the power down to hit the front where it counted most crossing the line a bike length in front of her Dutch rival. "I tried to get back on her wheel," added 25-year-old Cooke. "After a long race 100 metres can seem more like 200. Dutch rider Vos said: "I felt good in the last lap. I couldn’t do any better, I couldn’t go faster. "Last year I started my sprint too late and this year I thought I had gotten it just right. "When I looked back and saw Nicole coming on strong I knew I couldn’t win. I’m still second, it’s still a spot on the podium." GB cycling supermo David Brailsford said: "Nicole has shown that she is the best around at the moment. "It is brilliant for Nicole and the rest of the team. We really are a team to be reckoned with now." The Road World Championships finish today with the Men’s Road Race. You can watch it live online on the BBC website.
Or watch the BBC’s live coverage on digital TV between 0930 and 1630 by pressing the red button, or catch the highlights between 1800 and 1900 on BBC2. Women’s road race result 1.Nicole Cooke (GB) 3hrs 42mins 11secs?2. 2.Marianne Vos (Ned) at same time? 3.Judith Arndt (Ger) at same time? 4.Emma Johansson (Swe) +5 secs? 5.Trixi Worrack (Ger) +11secs 6.?Diana Ziliute (Lit) +1:47"? 7.Marta Vilajosana (Spa) at same time? 8.Joanne Kiesanowski (NZ) at same time? 9.Alex Wrubleski (Can) at same time? 10.Yulia Martissova (Rus) at same time Selected others: 28.Sharon Laws (GB) 3hrs 43mins 58secs ? 35. Emma Pooley (GB) +1:56 ? 41. Elizabeth Armitstead (GB) +5.24 ?61. Jessica Allen (GB) +6.11
Cooke wins first senior World title
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But it was mentioned here: "Hammersmith Bridge car plans axed over £300m cost" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yzqv29d1eo
@quiff The point im raising is, much of this is symptomatic of a transport infrastructure thats overwhelmed with the weight of traffic using it. Maybe people would feel safer if the vehicles were fewer and not as oversized as modern cars have become. 30 years ago this wasn't so much of an issue. But there are more cars than ever, driving standards have eroded and the roads are crumbling through underinvestment. all while these poorly planned and built without cycling groups input. I will use Harrogate town centre as a great example. The council never once spoke to any of the many cycling groups in the area, the plan was a total shambles and inconvenience to all. You have some great cycle routes in the area. the Beryl Burton route being a top example but the town centre is an SUV heavy clusterf***. I never cycled anywhere near the town centre due to this. Everywhere else around the town - brilliant roads in nearly all directions. There are so many examples of utterly bonkers cycling infrastructure. Some so poorly designed it actively dissuades cyclists from using it which then draws the wrath of drivers who then complain its not being used. All the while the majority of cyclist will say, treat me with respect and dont endager me and we can all use the roads. But its getting harder and harder to do that with the current trends in car design and ailing stadards
cyclists tend to be slimmer than people who are waddl.. walking.
Saw a bit on BBC News this morning about the weight limit on Vauxhall Bridge starting today. Nothing on the BBC website as of today, just the previous article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4p10l3833o
@Smoggysteve That may well apply to a lot of cyclists. But what about people who don't already cycle? They frequently report feeling unsafe - the infrastructure is intended for them (though admittedly it doesn't always pass muster).
@imajez the data on Working Family Tax Credit shows that the recipients are much more likely to be working 16 hours than 40. The reason for that is the 16 hour threshold meets the threshold for eligibility to a wider range of benefits including housing support. So the recipients work less and then avoid the significant costs that everyone else has to pay themselves.
In reality, I dont think many cyclists actually cry out for all this cycling focussed infrastructure. Local governments may install it and cyclists will mostly use it but I see very few actual cyclists demanding it. Most would happily ride on the roads and be treated with respect by drivers. Most cycle paths are built to fulfil a quota of active travel budget. Cyclists and cycling groups are often ignored in the decision making process, so its not us its you pal that are the problem designing crappy infrastructure very few cyclists actually wanted to begin with.
@mitsky I wonder what the police think those little fingers in their lap were holding onto and doing? "Officer, I was just twiddling my thumbs".
@chrisonabike Yep, its just a convenient excuse. Much the same as GDPR and "we can't be sure that the person who was very clearly not even 1.5m from the edge of the road passed you within 1.5m".
Nice one, Malcolm(!) Now do motorists.