Cooke Wins Great Britain's

first Gold in Women's Road Race

 

She stayed out of trouble for the first part of the race, she read every move intelligently, she got into the decisive final break and overcame a mistake on the final bend to clinch gold in a thrilling sprint at Badaling. It was a huge team effort for the GB team, played to perfection, with Pooley causing untold damage on the first climb of the Badaling Pass and Laws doing huge amounts of work in the opening stages. At the end it was between five riders in the final kilometre, and it looked as if Cooke was out of it after she lost ground on one of the final corners. Suddenly, Cooke had a mountain to overcome and kicked early, giving it everything to overcome the remaining four competitors in an inspiring and gritty final sprint in miserable conditions on the mountain.

 

Full Report

 

Using the same course as yesterday's gruelling men's road race, the difference being that the women would race the 78kms out of Beijing to the finishing circuit at the Great Wall, where the top contenders would fight it out on 2 laps of the hilly 23.8km circuit. The temperature hovered at around 24 degrees with 97% humidity in Beijing, with heavy rain and strong winds reported on the mountainous finishing circuit.

 

Of the field of 66 starters from 13 countries, British interests were represented by Nicole Cooke, Emma Pooley and GB team newcomer Sharon Laws, whose Olympic dreams were almost dashed following a broken ankle just weeks before the event. Cooke and Pooley were hotly tipped for top honours, with the hilly course suiting both Cooke and the 48kg climbing specialist Pooley. Cooke in particular was hotly tipped from the start, having ridden the course and declared it ideal – 11km of climbing on each of the two finishing laps and an uphill sprint finish. Laws too is something of a climbing specialist, having come from an endurance MTB background.

 

Aside from GB big hitters, the other pre-race favourites were defending champion Sara Carrigan, road, track and cross legend Marianne Vos of the Netherlands and Hanka Kupfernagel of Germany.

 

The Race as it unfolded

 

With a shorter race than the men's race, pre race predicitions of a very cagey start were borne out, with only a few probing attacks during the 78km leg between Beijing and the Badaling Pass. Cooke stayed tucked into the main bunch, keeping out of trouble and sheltering from the wind as much as possible.

 

1hr 15 – Points race specialist Vera Carrera of Italy decides to stir things up with an attack, stringing the field out, with Australia's Oenone Wood unshipping her chain right on queue.

 

1hr 30 - conditions gradually worsen, with heavy rain and lots of standing water on the tarmac, as the race continues to head out of the sprawling metropolis of Beijing.

 

1hr 38 – Hanka Kupfernagel hits the front and stretches the field into a long sinuous line on the treacherous tarmac of the outskirts of the city. A counter attack from one of the Russian riders comes swiftly as Kupfernagel sits up, keeping the pressure on as the rain pounds down.

 

2hrs 02 – As the rain got heavier and heavier, 19 yr old Russian rider Alexandra Burchenkova attacked on a treacherous right hand bend and went clear with the hilly finishing circuit around 5km away. Headed by Katherine Bates, the main pack swept the Russian up who were all back together as they hit the foothills of the finishing circuit.

 

2hrs 13 – CRASH! Four riders go down - GB's Sharon Laws involved. Sungeun Gu of Korea ends up in the ditch. Thankfully, all riders rejoin.

 

2hrs 18 – The riders hit the climb with all three GB riders well positioned. The injection of pace spits out Carrera of Italy and Bates of Australia who both did huge amounts of work in the opening stages. Three USA riders hit the front and begin to turn the screw.

 

2hrs 22 – Natalia Boyarskaya of Russia kicks off the front as the pace slackens slightly. The rain continues to beat down. Boyarskaya's lead increases to 45 seconds and the main field are reluctant to do much about it.

 

2hrs 29 – Boyarskaya's lead increases to 1:05. USA and GB sense the danger and begin to chase at the front. Pooley looked massively composed spinning a low gear as the gradient ramped up. Veteran rider Longo struggles to hang on to the back of the group.

 

2hrs 32 – Kupfernagel dropped her chain but rejoins the back of the field. Pooley hit the front and looked very calm and collected as she splintered the field. New Zealand's Catherine Cheatley is spat out the back.

 

2hrs 37 – Meanwhile and despite the pace of the main group Natalia Boyarskaya's lead increases to 1:54 and there's some confusion as to where she's taken a wrong turn on the climb!

 

2hrs 43 – Boyarskaya's lead drops to 45 seconds as she descends through the tunnel. Pooley heads the chasing group through the long tunnel through the mountain. Boyarskaya stretches her lead again to 59 seconds.

 

2hrs 54 – CRASH! Is Laws involved once more? Emma Pooley attacks at the foot of the climb shortly after the bell and is joined by Tatiana Guderzo of Italy. Boyarskaya is still ahead but only just.

 

3hrs Pooley, Guderzo and Boyarskaya are all together, taking turns to try and establish a healthy lead. Meanwhile Cooke is close to the front of the main bunch controlling things and trying to disrupt German efforts to close down the break.

 

3hrs 03 – Three more riders are spat out of the back, including defending Olympic champion Sara Carrigan. The escaping threesome are reeled back in. Vera Carrera retires as the field play cat and mouse. Katherine Bates retires, her job done early on. Cooke looks strong near the front of the field.

 

3hrs 07 – Time trial specialist Zabarova of Khazakstan hits the front and once again Germany do the work to pull her back, the Germans trying to keep things together for a bunch sprint. Cooke sits in second wheel.

 

3hrs 10 – Cooke and Pooley well positioned as Christiane Soeder of Austria forces the pace. Another attack goes with German rider Judith Arndt heading the field. Chinese rider Lang Meng hits the ditch on a treacherous corner.

 

3hrs 14 – Jennie Longo hits the front and chases down the Khazak rider. Cooke watches and responds to every move, never seemingly flustered or outwitted. Ardnt is spat out of the back after her earlier effort. Pooley also beginning to suffer at the back of the pack.

 

3hrs 18 – 12kms to go and Italy's Tatiana Guderzo kicks once again and the field hesitates. Guderzo gets a useful gap on the descent. Pooley recovers and is back in the group. Soeder of Austria leads the chase. Cooke reads the move and joins the four rider chasing group, consisting of Serup of Denmark, Johannson of Sweden and Soeder of Austria. The four become five as Gudzero is caught.

 

3hrs 26 – Soeder tries to drop the other four breakaway riders. The chasing group of 15 or so riders are 14 seconds back. Soeder's attempt comes to nothing and all five stay together with 15 seconds back to the main group.

 

1km to go – it will be one of the breakaway five who'll get Gold – DRAMA!! Cooke loses contact on a bend and has to work hard to get back in contention. Cooke digs to extraordinary depths to take it on the line!!! Gold for Cooke, with Johansson of Sweden taking Silver and Gudzero of Italy taking Bronze! What a finish!!

 

Cooke can also claim the title of being Great Britain's 200th medal winner.

 

Nicole Cooke:

"This is what I have dreamed about since I was 11 years old. It's fantastic - I'm so happy and proud. I'm really glad the Chinese Authorities laid on some nice Welsh weather!

It was a tactical race, very hard and I was always concerned that the group behind would catch us. It was always touch and go over the last 12km.

 

Emma and Sharon worked fantastically for me. It was a great team effort. The teams organisation was the best it's ever been.

 

The group I was in worked very well. It's a pity there were only 3 medals for the 5 of us and 2 had to miss out. I know what it's like to come 5th and that is what has driven me."

 

Denise and Tony Cooke:

"We are very proud of Nicole and what she has achieved. It's her ambition and she's worked very very hard for it. The whole GB Team did well!"

 

 

Results

 

1 COOKE Nicole Great Britain
2 JOHANSSON Emma Sweden
3 GUDERZO Tatiana Italy 
4 SOEDER Christiane Austria
5 SERUP Linda Melanie Villumsen Denmark
6 VOS Marianne Netherlands 
7 DOPPMANN Priska Switzerland
8 BRZEZNA Paulina Poland 
9 PUCINSKAITE Edita Lithuania
10 ZABIROVA Zulfiya Kazakhstan
23 24 POOLEY Emma Great Britain 
35 23 LAWS Sharon Great Britain