Cooke Caps Wonderful Year With World Title Win
Story posted September 27
By Larry Hickmott in Varese
A picture tells a thousands words - Nicole Cooke does the double and wins the World title to go with the Olympic Gold medal.
For anyone who missed the final stages of the race, please click the link below:
Great Britain's Nicole Cooke has added the Senior World Road Race championship to her Olympic title after winning a sprint against former World Road Race champions Marianne Vos (Holland) and Judith Arndt (Germany).
Nicole is the first Great Britain rider to win a Senior World Women’s Road Race championship since Mandy Jones was victorious at the 1982 championships in Goodwood (southern England) and like all Nicole’s wins, it was done in style.
After good team work during the race by the Great Britain riders who could been seen a lot on the TV at the front of the race action, Nicole finished the race off beautifully by getting herself into a six rider break that formed on the last of the eight laps of the hilly course.
With two Germans and two Swedish riders in the break on the last lap, both Cooke and Vos were going to have to fight hard to over come the odds they were up against but Cooke is a fighter extraordinaire and in the sprint for the title, she used all her vast experience and sprinting ability to get past the very rapid Vos and claim the World title for herself.
The race in Varese begun under cloudy skies with 138 riders, one down on the expected 139 after the withdrawal of Ina Teutenburg of Germany. In the early stages of the race, a break of around thirteen riders went clear including GB's Lizzie Armitstead.
Other riders included the Olympic Time Trial champion Kristin Armstrong (USA), Nikki Egyed (Australia) along with riders from Germany, Lithuania, France, Italy, Spain and Mexico. The lead group was soon down a rider to make a dozen in the lead but pressure from Armstrong saw the lead remain healthy despite constant attacks from the British riders including Pooley and Laws, the latter having had a tough chase to get back to the peloton after a wheel change.
The break that dominated the race with Lizzie Armitstead in there for Great Britain.
With most of the pre-race favourites in the bunch, the break was on dodgy ground and the attacks by Pooley and others saw the lead tumble with two laps to go. As the peloton started to fragment, the break was caught but GB's Lizzie Armistead had one final job which she did tremendously to help out her team leader, Nicole Cooke.
With the favourites all now starting to show their cards, a small group pulled away including Cooke. The leading six was a who's who of the best women racers in the world -- Vos, Nicole Cooke, Judith Arndt and Trixi Worrack (Germany) and Emma Johansson and Susanne Ljungskog (Sweden).
Ljungskog, whose attacks were responsible for the break, saw her race chances dissapear in thin air as she punctured and evened the odds out for Cooke and Vos who were seemingly up against it with two Germans and Swedes in the break. The finale of the race was non-stop action with Worrack's name continually being heard in the race commentary at the race finish. Both Worrack and Vos appeared to have got clean away at one stage but Cooke and Johansson took up the chase on the descent and used their skills at speed to get back in the race for the title.
Johansson though was not waiting for the sprint and with a kilometre to go, went clear and when caught had nothing left for the finish as did Worrack who had done all she could for teammate Arndt in chasing the Swedish rider down. Vos started the sprint and Cooke took her wheel before timing her effort well and having plenty of time to raise her arms in the air and show her delight to the cameras of the world with her first Senior world road race title.
Rider Reactions:
Nicole Cooke: “My win is still sinking in” Nicole explained as she left for dinner with the other girls in the GB team proudly wearing her rainbow jersey. “It was such a finale of a race – I didn’t for a minute think I was going to win it because the number advantage the Germans had, Vos and the sprint and I think Johansson and I were doing what we could to contain it all.”
“I was riding on instinct for the whole of that last lap and am proud of how it worked out.”
Having seen her smiling and happy before the race, no hint of nerves from the Olympic champion, I asked her did she go into the race relaxed? “I was relaxed going into it because I had already achieved my aim for the season so that was good. The team plan we had before the race also gave me a lot of confidence ad you can only do your best and that is what I did”.
Asked about the finale, Nicole said “Lizzie took me to the front and I think one of the Germans still had a gap so I asked Lizzie to close up to the German and really keep the race on fire which is what she did and it prevented there being a lull. The attacks then started. I knew we were forming a breakaway but I didn’t know the numbers.”
“Then we started the descent and I could see there were six, including two Germans, two Swedish girls, and I knew I was going to have problem containing them. I saw Vos, was riding aggressively and she wasn’t going to let the numbers defeat her. So I did the best I could and I knew I was going to have to take the couple of opportunities that came.”
“The last few kilometres were just mad.”
“The sprint was started by Judith’s attack to try and bridge to Johansson who was away – there was so much going on at once but I knew I had to try and follow Ardnt and we went round the corner and she was really going for it and I just knew I was going to have to do my best in the sprint. From the corner of my eye, I saw Vos go and I reacted as quick as I could and got into her slipstream and I used the slipstream effect to get past her.”
“It’s incredible.”
Julian Winn: Her manager for the GB team, Julian Winn, had this to say afterwards: “The strategy for the race worked well. The job for Lizzie and Jess was to get in the early moves which was done and Lizzie did a tremendous job up there --, I am really really pleased with her. The others were to wait for four or five laps and then start making things happen.”
“Emma came into her own at this point, putting in a couple of softeners to stretch the field and crush it down a bit. Unfortunately, Sharon had a problem and had a really hard chase to get back on which took the wind out of her a bit.”
“Before we left the bus, we really wanted to watch the Swedes as we felt they were dangerous , especially Ljungskog. Then with two to go, I said to Nicole to get on her wheel and flukely, Ljungskog accelerated and Nicole was straight onto to it and that move created that lead group. Everyone in that group were committed and everyone of them were gassed at the end. It was a brilliant win by Nicole in the end but it may seem a silly thing to say, but I am also pleased that all the riders finished, that was an achievement by the team.”
Lizzie Armitstead (above): “My job was to basically on the first four laps to keep it active and hard on the front so that the sprinters would struggle on the climbs. I was attacking and keeping active at the front and then on the second climb, I think it was Kristin Armstrong who attacked. About 15 of us went with her and the break was established and we soon had a gap of 1 minute 30.”
“I kept tapping through and then the girls would attack on the climb every time. Armstrong was probably the strongest in our group. I found the pace in the group fine and as I came through the finish, I heard Shane (Sutton) shout to me to sit on. The radio was out of range for me.”
Once the break was caught and with a lap to go, Lizzie explained “the bunch came up to us and was fragmented and I said to Nicole, what can I do for you and she said to me ‘get me to the front now’ because the race was really on by now. So I got her to the front and then she said to me ‘one last effort – you have to go from the bottom of this climb’ and so I attacked.”
“I was caught and then I grovelled my way to the top and to the finish from there. I’m absolutely ecstatic that she won. I was also pleased with my own effort as my back didn’t give me any trouble so I have to say thank you to Phil Burt (EIS physio) who got me where I am really.”
Sharon Laws (above): “I think it was on the second lap, just going round the corner before the second climb some one rode into my wheel and broke a few spokes. So I had to then wait for the (team) car to come up and then had to chase for half a lap to get back to the group. It was a bit stressful and not what I needed at the start of the race.”
“In the race, I was struggling a bit on the descent to be honest. I was able to move up to the front on the climb and then went backwards on the descent which was very very fast. I haven’t ridden in a World Championship before and the racing was very different to some of the Tours I have done.”
On the fact it took a lot of time to split the peloton despite the attacks, Sharon explained “I guess everyone is targeting this race and everyone is very strong. Emma and I were going to try and get away towards the end if we could. I didn’t really have the legs though and the attacks I made didn’t really work. Nothing was really getting away”.
“Coming into the finish, I was probably on the front a bit too long trying to chase Jeannie Longo who was going.”
PHOTOS
The peloton on lap 2 approaching the second climb
Emma Pooley attacking up the second climb trying to split the big group
Sharon Laws having her pre-race meal back at the hotel.
The Great Britain team line up before the start after they have signed on. L-R: Emma Pooley, Nicole Cooke, Lizzie Armitstead, Jessica Allen and Sharon Laws.
Nicole Cooke was all smiles before the start.
The Women's Road Race Championship of the World commences in Varese.
Jessica Allen finished the race dissapointed that she was unable to help the team as much as she wanted to but her manager Julian Winn praised her saying she did very well to finish.
Nicole Cooke was all smiles up the climb, a good sign she had great form for the race.
Sharon Laws back in the bunch after tangling with a rider and needing a wheel change.
Two laps to go and the break is still away with Lizzie centre of the picture
The lead group with a lap to go as Judith Arndt forces the pace through the finish area.
A few lengths back in the group and Lizzie, who hasn't done a race at this level on the road all season, is looking back to see where Nicole is and what the eventual world champion wants her to do. A very impressive effort by the Yorkshire lass after being in the break all race.
The wheel that Sharon Laws was riding until a rider decided to put her pedal or rear mech into it and breaking a load of spokes.
Results
1 Nicole Cooke (Great Britain)
2 Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
3 Judith Arndt (Germany)
4 Emma Johansson (Sweden)
6 Trixi Worrack (Germany)
7 Diana Ziliute (Lithuania)
8 Marta Vilajosana Andreu (Spain)
9 Joanne Kiesanowski (New Zealand)
10 Alex Wrubleski (Canada)
11 Julia Martisova (Russian Federation)
12 Claudia H䵳ler (Germany)
13 Chantal Beltman (Netherlands)
14 Linda Villumsen (Denmark)
28 Sharon Laws (Great Britain) @1.47
35. Emma Pooley (Great Britain) 1.56
41. Elizabeth Armitstead (Great Britain)5.24
61. Jessica Allen (Great Britain) 6.11