Amidst the driving rain lashing down upon the streets of Beijing on 10th August 2008, cyclist Nicole Cooke had a decision to make.
With 600m to go in the Women’s individual road race, the then 25-year-old was fifth and looked as though the chance of Olympic glory was going to pass her by, as it had done four years prior in Athens.
But, on a day when the field had powered past landmarks such as the Great Hall of the People, Tiananmen Square, and sections of the Great Wall of China, Cooke decided to make a ‘landmark’ move of her own.
And the result of said move? Well, it created British sporting history.
Never before had a female Team GB athlete won Olympic gold in any cycling discipline, nor had any Team GB athlete, of either sex, ever stood atop the podium after an Olympic road cycling event.
However, Cooke changed all that, and despite the weather on that day, nothing could dampen her spirits.
Young prodigy and Grand Tour victories
Cooke, now 42, who hails from a small Welsh village called Wick in the Vale of Glamorgan, began her storied cycling career aged 11, starting out at Cardiff Ajax Cycling Club.
Due to racing opportunities being scarce growing up, Cooke kept her cycling horizons broad, taking part in all disciplines, including track, mountain biking, cyclo-cross and hill climbs, in a bid to one day achieve her dream of competing in the Tour de France.
Described by her childhood club as someone who rides with “pride” and “tenacity”, Cooke shot to prominence in 1999, when, at just 16 years of age, she won the British National Road Race Championships ahead of Yvonne McGregor – someone who would go on to claim Olympic bronze at Sydney 2000 in the 3,000m pursuit and World Championship gold in Manchester in the same year and event.
Despite missing out on a place at the aforementioned Games in Australia, due to the UCI’s rule of requiring all Olympic Road Race competitors needing to be 19 years of age, Cooke continued to go from strength to strength during the early part of her career, winning Road Race Commonwealth gold at the 2002 Games in Manchester and the 2003 UCI Women's Road Cycling World Cup.
A first Grand Tour title followed in 2004, as 21-year-old Cooke became the youngest-ever winner of the Giro d’Italia Femminile, as well as Britain’s maiden Grand Tour winner, holding off the charge of Fabiana Luperini, who had won four previous Giros going into the race.
Later that year though, Cooke’s first tilt at an Olympic title ultimately ended in disappointment as she finished fifth in the women's Road Race and 19th in the Road Time Trial.
But the Games in Athens proved nothing more than a bump in the road as two Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale crowns arrived in 2006 and 2007 - the pre-curser to the Tour de France Femmes – as Cooke achieved her long-standing dream.
Nicole Cooke's Olympic glory
With unparalleled success behind her, Cooke’s first major race of 2008 was the one to get back to top form, having sustained a knee injury the previous year.
But there was nothing to fear, as she took to the start line in Beijing with the simple goal of crossing the finish line at the Juyong Pass first.
It was a feat easier said than done, but Cooke had given herself the best possible chance, having gone through a meticulous and thorough build-up process for the race.
Part of that preparation saw her carry out a “dress rehearsal” on sections of the Olympic course, most notably, the final sprint section.
“We were trying to cover all options, and we were hoping that exactly that [the sprint finish they had prepared for] would happen," said Julian Winn, then women's road-team manager.
And after more than 135km of gruelling competition fought out in the teaming rain, Cooke was still in with a chance of immortality.
“With 1 km to go at the bottom of the descent there was a series of turns through a toll booth and I eased off, there had been a big crash here the lap earlier and I didn’t want to take any chances,” explained Cooke.
“My breakaway companions went full speed round the corners so I had to launch into a chase, and as I was closing, with about 600m to go, I had to decide how I would play the finish.”
The call she ultimately made, was bold and it was brave, but victory is rarely secured when one is camped in one’s comfort zone.
Carrying her speed past the leaders via the inside line of a corner, Cooke took the lead with 250m to go.
Amazingly, that eventuality was not part of the plan, but sport, and life, does not always go to plan, and she adapted accordingly, fending off Sweden’s Emma Johansson and Italy’s Tatiana Guderzo in the process.
“I had to give it everything and focus on that finish line and riding as hard as I possibly could to keep my advantage,” she added.
“Those last metres were excruciating, it was only after I passed the line and double checked that I was definitely first, that I knew it was true. I had done it! I had become Olympic Champion!”
A life and career’s work vindicated over a 250m sprint after over three and a half hours in the saddle.
Cooke's reaction after crossing the line told her story in compelling fashion: the pain, the joy and the relief, all pouring out in equal measure.
Team GB’s first gold medal of the Games had been secured as Cooke became the first Welsh women to win a medal of that colour.
And by adding the world title six weeks later in Varese, Italy, Cooke completed a remarkable double, becoming the first road race rider in history to win the Olympics and World Championships in the same year.
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