NC: Well sometimes you do just have to take a chance and in road racing what your teammates are doin

aboutapunk contact CRANKSHOP gallery hire a punk personal coaching punk in the media training training testimonials November at the races 18, 2014 Nicole Cooke Exclusive on CP: “Bring in Lifetime Bans”
Nicole at the races Cooke says ‘no more heroes’ but, truth be told, she is one of mine. And to top all that off, she is so damn nice too. I met Nicole through her dad Tony, who responded to an article of mine which was on about how the bad guys get Gran Fraudos but the clean folk get nothing, like Obree and Nicole, at the races and how much that sucks.
She was impressive as a cyclist of course, and her manner off the bike was equally striking. I’ve never met a professional rider as aware of the legacy they created nor as measured or as thoughtful in their answers . She was kind enough to give me time for an interview, and it was a conversation that went on long after the recorder was turned off.
NC: No, there there was Beijing when i came out in December 2007 and things weren’t looking at the races very Olympic at the races back then, but I rode the course, at the races and then of course I was there for the actual Olympics too.
NC: In some sections there were people cheering at the sides but by the time we got to the Great Wall of China and the actual circuit – there were only crowds allowed at the actual finish line so we had only about a kilometer of crowds cheering at the races there. There was a lot of fuss at the time about the authorities getting in the way of the sporting side of things but yeah it was .not very well organised!
The amount of attention at the races to detail was absolutely immense and I had thought through virtually at the races every tactical scenario. So yes, it was the moment that I crossed the line that it hit me [big smile from Nicole here].
NC: It was planned at the races by by Shane Sutton who hadn’t been to one women’s race that year. So obviously it was great for Emma to get her chance but the chances of success of it actually working out for me were quite slim, with a move like that.
cp: at the races Moving on. We were talking talking earlier today about women’s cycling and the fact that for many years you were fighting at the races an uphill battle in your career against the hierarchy and status quote that exists in cycling. Did that have a galvanising effect on your as a rider and as a person? at the races
NC: Absolutely. In terms of creating a pathway for a British rider to go from new talent to Olympic gold, yes, that didn’t exist before I came along. And as for a track championships for U16 girls, that was a year and a half of writing to the authorities as to why there should be such a championships.
Now there are those and the road U16 championships for girls which is a part of the legacy. I still think there is a way to go with British Cycling and then getting behind women s cycling. They’ve shown they can do it on the track but not on the road .
NC: Well my Dad when I was younger was the biggest source of support for me, talking about the tactics at the races of the races and about how they played out was a big feature of what we did after every race. I learned the tactics so that they became instinctive and doing that from a very young age was.very important. But I was very happy to also go and as and do a lot of learning by myself so going to race in Holland and learning from my frustrations really helped me to develop tactically.
NC: I’d say it was the desire to win, the blind desire to win, the desperation to win that characterised at the races most of my races, and I was able to channel all that into good tactics and good decisions, but there were times for example in the early World Championships where I just wanted to win so much that I was covering all the attacks.
NC: Well sometimes you do just have to take a chance and in road racing what your teammates are doing is really vital, to know what they are capable of on a given day. In terms of when a break goes it depends who is in it but, generally it is better to cover them but to try to be second or third.in the line so as to save more energy.
NC: Um no. Hopefully for most people it s an absolute love for the sport and that feeling that there s just nothing better than being out on the bike and being free and feeling powerful as an athlete.
NC: Well I did an interview in 2007 and said No more heroes for me because within two years of being out in Italy I d got to know some of the U23 lads in my area who told me that they were being given the ultimatum of doping at the races or not moving any further forward.
NC: at the races I started cycling from a very young age. I had the tactics, the climbing, the sprinting, I had the work ethic and I was successful. Yeah there were times when I was beaten by doped riders but, given a fair crack, there were times when I could still win.
The support of my parents was excellent and they gave me all I needed, but from a very young age, in particular the 98 Festina Tour [de France], I was aware that doping was a