Nicole Cooke facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Nicole Cooke
MBE

Cooke on the podium after winning the 2007 Geelong World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Nicole Denise Cooke
Nickname	The Wick Wonder, Cookie
Born	(1983-04-13) 13 April 1983 (age 42) Swansea, Wales
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	58 kg (128 lb; 9 st)
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Major wins
UCI Women's Road World Cup Overall (2003, 2006) La Flèche Wallonne Féminine (2003, 2005, 2006) Amstel Gold Race (2003) GP Castilla y Leon (2006) Geelong World Cup (2007) Tour of Flanders for Women (2007) GP de Plouay (2003) Stage Races Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale (2006, 2007) Giro d'Italia Femminile (2004) Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen (2006) Giro del Trentino Alto Adige-Südtirol (2009) Single-day races Olympic Games Road Race Champion (2008) World Road Race Champion (2008) Commonwealth Games Road Race Champion (2002) National Road Race Champion (1999, 2001–2009) National Cyclo-cross Champion (2001) GP de Wallonie (2005) T Mobile International (2004) Souvenir Magali Pache (2006)

Nicole Denise Cooke, born on April 13, 1983, is a famous Welsh former professional cyclist. She was a champion in road racing at the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics, and the World Championships. In 2008, at the Beijing Olympics, she made history by becoming the first British woman to win a gold medal in any cycling event. Nicole retired from cycling on January 14, 2013, when she was 29 years old.

Early Life and Cycling Beginnings

Nicole Cooke was born in Swansea, Wales, and grew up in Wick, Vale of Glamorgan. She went to Brynteg Comprehensive School in Bridgend. There, she won a special award for being the top academic girl in her final exams.

Starting Cycling at a Young Age

Nicole started cycling when she was 11 years old. She joined the Cardiff Ajax Cycling Club, where she is now a lifetime member. By age 16, she won her first major national title. She became the youngest rider to win the senior women's title at the British National Road Race Championships in 1999.

Junior World Champion

At 17, Nicole became the youngest to win the senior women's title at the British National Cyclocross Championships in 2001. Later that year, she won her second senior women's road race title. She also won four junior world titles. These included the road race in 2000, and a unique triple win in 2001. She won the mountain bike, time trial, and road race world junior titles all in the same year. Because of these amazing achievements, she received the Bidlake Memorial Prize in 2001. This award celebrates outstanding contributions to British cycling.

Professional Cycling Career: 2002–2007

Nicole Cooke became a professional cyclist in 2002. She joined the Deia-Pragma-Colnago team, which was based in Spain and Ukraine. She moved to Forli, Italy, and lived with another cyclist, Rochelle Gilmore. There, she also learned to speak Italian.

First Professional Season and Challenges

In her first professional season in 2002, Nicole won races in Italy, France, and the Netherlands. She also won the road race at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. This was the first time Wales had won a road cycling medal, for either men or women. During her first Tour de France at age 19, Nicole felt very tired. She was offered "medicines" by her team to help, but she refused them. Her team also had problems paying wages to Nicole and other riders. They even took her racing bike before a big championship, but returned it after a phone call from Ernesto Colnago.

Moving Teams and Major Wins

In 2003, Nicole joined the Acca Due O'Team. She then rode for the Ausra Gruodis-Safi Team. From 2004 to 2005, she was part of the Safi–Pasta Zara–Manhattan Team. In 2003, she won several important races. These included La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, the Amstel Gold Race, and the GP de Plouay. She became the youngest and first British cyclist to win the UCI Women's Road World Cup. She also finished third in the world road championship. Nicole was named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year. She faced some injuries that year, crashing twice and needing to miss races.

Overcoming Injuries and Grand Tour Victory

After a knee problem, Nicole had surgery in May 2004. Just a few weeks later, she won her fifth British title. The next month, she won the Giro d'Italia Femminile. She was the youngest winner and the first British cyclist, male or female, to win a Grand Tour. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, she finished fifth in the road race.

In 2005, she won La Flèche Wallonne Féminine again. She also won the GP Wallonie and the Trofeo Alfredo Binda. She came in second at the UCI Road World Championships.

Commonwealth Games and World Rankings

At the end of 2005, Nicole joined the Swiss-based Univega Pro-Cycling team. She moved to Lugano, Switzerland, where she still lives. In 2006, the Welsh Cycling Union decided to send Nicole as a one-person team to the Commonwealth Games. This was to defend her title, but she felt it showed unfair treatment in the sport. Despite breaking her collarbone before the games and having no team support, she won a bronze medal in the road race.

Team Australia celebrates beating defending champion Cooke at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Nicole competed for Team Wales on her own.

On August 1, 2006, Nicole became the number one ranked female road cyclist in the world. She won the UCI Women's Road World Cup for a second time. She also won the Grande Boucle, which is like the women's Tour de France, by over six minutes. She finished third in the UCI Road World Championships.

Continued Success and Injury

In 2007, Nicole won the Geelong World Cup and the Ronde van Vlaanderen. These early wins helped her set a new record for the biggest lead in the world rankings. She also won the Trofeo Alfredo Binda again and defended her Grande Boucle title. An injury stopped her from fully defending her World Cup title that year. She even thought about quitting cycling because of the injury.

2008: Olympic and World Champion

In 2008, Nicole joined Team Halfords Bikehut. She won her ninth national road race title, her eighth in a row.

Olympic Gold Medal

On August 10, 2008, Nicole represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She won the gold medal in the Women's Road Race. This was Great Britain's 200th gold medal in the Modern Olympic Games. It was also the first Olympic gold medal for a British woman in any cycling event. She was also the first British rider, male or female, to win a gold medal in any road cycling event. This was a historic moment for British cycling.

World Championship Victory

Later in 2008, Nicole made history again. She became the first cyclist, male or female, from any country, to win both the Olympic gold medal and the World Champion title in the same year. The race in Varese, Italy, was exciting. Nicole won in a sprint finish, beating Marianne Vos and Judith Arndt. She thanked her teammates for helping her stay in the race.

Sharing Her Knowledge

Nicole's book, Cycle for life, was published in October 2008. The book shares her love for cycling and her expert advice. It helps cyclists of all levels, from beginners to competitive riders.

Later Career and Retirement: 2009–2013

Nicole Cooke was honored with the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2009. She also won the "Female Athlete of the Year" award from Transworld Sport and the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year award.

Challenges and Continued Racing

In June 2009, Nicole won the Giro del Trentino title. She also won her tenth British National Road Race Championships title. Her team, Vision1 Cycling Team, closed down in 2009. This happened because they could not find a main sponsor during the 2008 financial crisis. Nicole then signed with Equipe Nuernberg Versicherung for 2010, but that team also faced problems. She raced and trained with the British cycling team in 2010. She won a stage at the Iurreta-Emakumeen Bira. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she finished fifth.

In November 2010, Nicole joined the Italian-based Mcipollini-Giordana team. In 2011, she won Stage 5 of the Giro D'Italia. She also took fourth place in the World Championships Road Race. In October, she won the GP Noosa in Australia.

Final Years and Retirement

In 2012, Nicole joined the Faren-Honda team. She won Stage 6 of the Energiewacht Tour in the Netherlands. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she competed in the road race, finishing 31st. Her teammate Lizzie Armitstead won a silver medal.

Nicole Cooke announced her retirement from cycling on January 14, 2013, at age 29. In her retirement speech, she spoke openly about issues in professional cycling. She talked about the importance of fair play and equal opportunities for all athletes. Her speech was praised, with one magazine calling her "The Anti-Lance Armstrong" for speaking out.

After Cycling

After retiring, Nicole Cooke continued her education. In March 2014, she was studying for an MBA at Cardiff University. Her autobiography, The Breakaway, was published in 2014. The book received great reviews. It was named The Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year 2014.

Advocating for Fairness in Sport

Since retiring, Nicole has often spoken out. She campaigns for equal opportunities in sports for everyone. She also pushes for stronger ways to check for unfair advantages in sports. In January 2017, she shared her experiences with a special committee in Parliament. She talked about the need for fair treatment and clean sport. News reports highlighted her strong words about these important issues.

Nicole also appeared on Christmas University Challenge in 2018, representing Cardiff University.

Major Results

Cyclo-cross

Mountain Bike

Road

See also

In Spanish: Nicole Cooke para niños