Newsgroup: it.sport.ciclismo
Titolo: An interview with Nicole Cooke, da Cyclingnews

http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2006/interviews/?id=nicole_cooke06
A prolific season
After a couple of seasons marred by injuries, Nicole Cooke has been 
almost unbeatable in 2006. She's also one of the most vehemently 
anti-doping riders, refusing to inject anything into her body - even 
vitamins and sugars - and refusing to room with anyone else who does. 
Ben Atkins caught up with the 23-year-old world number one as she builds 
up for the end of her season - the last few World Cup races and the 
World Championships - to reflect on what has so far been a fantastic 
season for her and her Univega-Raleigh team and how she feels about the 
less positive stories in the men's peloton.
After a fantastic season so far, Cooke can pick out a few specific 
results for herself and her team-mates that have given her the most 
satisfaction, "My third win out of the last three times I've ridden 
Fleche Wallonne is a highlight as it also marked the change in direction 
of the World Cup," she said. "The Thuringen Tour was a special race for 
the whole team as it was a race we targeted before the season had even 
started and every rider rode out of their skin during that week: Jo 
crashed on stage 2 and had to be restrained by the doctors for her own 
safety as she was desperate to get back on her bike, or any bike she 
could get her hands on and feet clipped into, so she could finish the 
stage and continue in the race!
"Christiane rode a fantastic prologue to take the leader's jersey, which 
got the team psyched up. Then when it really counted there was some 
serious work done by Priska, Karin and Emma who all gave so much and 
played such an important role in the final result…. I was very proud of 
how we rode and glad to justify all the hard work. Oh, that's not even 
mentioning the support from my team-mates at home who were not competing 
in Thuringen…."
Cooke refuses to dwell on the ones that got away, despite her 
competitiveness, "I'm happy with how the season has gone and think that 
in all my races I made the best decision I could at the time. It's 
always easy with hindsight to go back and make corrections!" A prolific 
season has brought an extra - unplanned - bonus, that of world number 
one, something with which Cooke is very happy, "It's certainly something 
I'm very proud of as it puts me alongside some great names in women's 
cycling. But it's not something I'm chasing, if I can ride consistently 
well and get good results then it's a great bonus."
One previously held title that did elude her was the Commonwealth Games 
road race in Melbourne. Despite this - surprisingly for some observers - 
Cooke was really pleased with her bronze medal, "From where I had come 
from it was a great result. Breaking my collar bone in December '05 was 
a big knock for me and then against such a strong nation like Australia 
riding on their home turf they had a big advantage and used it with 
great skill. There were six-person teams from Australia, England, New 
Zealand and Canada, each of which could produce worthy medallists. As a 
lone rider I'm proud of how I rode and rank the Bronze as equal to the 
Gold from Manchester '02, given the strength in depth against me."
Happy with Univega-Raleigh
Towards the end of 2005, it looked very much like Cooke was going to 
sign for T-Mobile, but at the last minute the deal fell through and she 
signed for the smaller Univega-Raleigh team. There were many that felt 
that this team wouldn't be strong enough to support her ambitions - but 
this couldn't be further from the case, "A lot of that is down to the 
team manager Thomas Campana who has put a lot of effort into all aspects 
of the team, we have great staff, great equipment and a strong team 
spirit amongst all the riders on the team."
Cooke said that the team has a really good spirit and works together 
well, "Each rider has a part to play in the overall success of the team 
and we all take great pride in what we do. There is the opportunity for 
every rider to get results and to improve. We all get on really well 
together both on the bikes and off the bikes. That is perhaps part of 
the reason why we are so successful together and makes for such 
committed team riding."
Cooke has made the red white and blue British championship jersey her 
own, as she's won in seven of the past eight years and said she is very 
proud to wear it. Sadly, the absence of a major international race in 
the UK prevents her from showing off her colours to her home fans, "I 
was saddened not to ride the GP Wales World Cup last year but I do hope 
the opportunity will come again soon. Who knows, with the Tour de France 
starting in London next year it may not be long before the women's 
peloton is back in Britain."
The image of the sport
Sadly, it's difficult to talk about cycling at the moment without 
mentioning the latest scandals in the men's peloton (the Operacion 
Puerto investigation and Floyd Landis' positive testosterone sample), 
but Cooke - who is a passionately clean rider can see some positives, "I 
think it's good that people are being caught out as cheats and frauds 
and hope that we are getting closer to a cleaner sport," she said.
Women's cycling has not been affected by drugs scandals to anywhere near 
the same extent. The image of women's cycling has not been severely 
damaged according to Cooke, "In the short term I think the public view 
all cyclists the same but I get the feeling that women's cycling offers 
a different image and platform compared to men's cycling….
"There is a healthy image surrounding female cyclists as the women's 
side of the sport is still developing. We do not have a shady history 
like that of the men. There's no Tom Simpson taking drugs and then dying 
in the '60s or a Festina scandal of the '90s or the affair of the Athens 
Olympic TT Champ. The women's scene does not have the same iconography 
in the mind of the general public."
Tarnished by the drugs stain
However, as a professional sportswoman, Cooke does feel negative 
pressure, "Nothing has been said to me personally but I think with 
Justin Gatlin's drug story coming up so soon after [Floyd Landis' 
positive drug test], it has got the general public thinking hard about 
sport and what it stands for. It's good that there is quality analysis 
in the media of the issues about doping - why weak people do it and how 
corrupting its influence is.
"Cycling is the greatest of sports and it should live up to that title 
with some strong leadership at the top showing the way forward. We do 
not need the fastest ever Tour each year for it to be a great race. We 
want to praise the man or woman in yellow on the final day of a stage 
race, not watch them and wonder who will be first [to be disqualified] 
after the B samples are all tested. I also think there is an onus on the 
riders [to take responsibility for cleaning up the sport]."
Changing the subject to more positive things, after so much success so 
far this year, Cooke hesitates to name a specific race that she really 
wants to win, but hopes for more general success, "I really hope that we 
can win the individual and team world cup… that would be fantastic."
Preparing for the worlds
Plouay, the location of the next World Cup Race - the GP de Plouay, is a 
happy hunting ground for Cooke, so she is hoping for a good result 
there. Perhaps there is some kind of Celtic connection for a Welsh 
athlete racing in Brittany, "The terrain and the course reminds me of 
riding at home in Wales so it's probably due to the familiarity. There 
is a great similarity between the Breton language and Welsh. We have 
bilingual road signs as well!! Yes it must be something Celtic that 
stirs the blood."
As Cooke is based in Zug, Switzerland, she's had a chance to hop over 
the border to check out the World's course. As a similar style rider to 
Paulo Bettini - who's said the course is made for him - Cooke is 
confident of a good showing this September, "I would like to think so, 
I'll prepare as best as I can but it will come down to who rides best on 
the day."
Cooke has also won nearly all of the Time Trials that she has ridden 
this year (including beating team mate and current World TT champion 
Karin Thurig) there is a chance she'll go for the double in Salzburg She 
managed the feat as a junior in Lisbon, "I think I am ready now to ride 
the my first senior World TT Championship however Karin [Thurig] is a 
phenomenal athlete and I think she will be the favourite for the TT."
Cooke's main rivals for the medals in Salzburg should consist of the 
usual suspects, "We'll have to see how everyone is going as we get 
closer to the event. The German team has won gold in the last two years 
and the Australians always work well together. Women's cycling has many 
stars who could easily perform on the day." But she should have a better 
shot than last year (when she was beaten into second place by a fast 
sprinting Regina Schleicher) with a full season's racing in her legs, "I 
hope so, certainly last year my lead up to the championships was not 
ideal…."
Welsh through and through
Speaking of competing for her country. Both of Cooke's parents are 
English, and this desperate English interviewer wondered if there had 
been any chance of her choosing to be an English - rather than Welsh - 
athlete. But it was to no avail, "Being born in Wales and having always 
lived there I could not really imagine riding for England. There was 
never any question. The first race I won was the Welsh U-12 Cyclo-Cross 
champs so given the history, the best flag out there and a beautiful 
national anthem it would be strange for me not to be competing for Wales."
Despite having to ride races like the Commonwealth Games without a team, 
it seems that Cooke has no regrets about choosing Wales: "I never made a 
choice, I'm Welsh through and through!" I gave it one last desperate 
attempt, "Is there any chance of her changing her mind and coming over 
to race for England?" Cooke's short answer, "Never."
Damn. Sorry England, I tried….
Palmares 2006
Grand Boucle Feminine (including 2 stages)
Thuringen Rundfahrt (including 4 stages)
La Fleche Wallonne (World Cup)
Gran Premio Castilla y Leon (World Cup)
British National Championship (Seventh time in Eight Years!)
Magali Pache time trial
Golden Hour TTT (With Univega-Raleigh Team)
Tour of New Zealand Queen of the Mountains
Commonwealth Games Bronze Medal
World Number 1
World Cup ead of 118 points with three rounds to go
Team World Cup lead of 171 points with three rounds to go
-- 
http://modesta.biciticino.ch
Il sito dedicato alla giovane ciclista lituana Modesta Vzesniauskaite

 vitamins and sugars - and refusing to room with anyone else who does.
This still does bother me though. This kind of self rightous squeeky clean
profile doesn't bode well. She needs to tone it down a bit. It comes across
as hypocritical.
B-