Newsgroup: it.sport.ciclismo
Titolo: Cooke ignores pain in quest for world glory

Articolo imperdibile...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2006/09/19/sogall19.xml&page=1
It was the day before the start of this year's Tour de France and 
Strasbourg was aghast at the sensational news of the enforced withdrawal 
of race favourites Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich for their alleged 
connections with the Madrid doping ring. David Millar's imminent return 
to action after a two-year ban for doping was also a hot topic of 
conversation following his emotional, tearful press interview the 
previous day.
Madness of a high order prevailed. The 'Tour Depart' is crazy enough 
during the most serene of years and after the frantic day's work had 
been completed, one or two of us sought temporary refuge — from the 
fevered speculation and the 95-degree heat that was burning up central 
Europe - in a shady bar. As you do in France, on the Tour, when the last 
deadline has passed.
There I finally downloaded a text message shamefully neglected during 
the most chaotic of days. I have it still, so let me quote directly: "A 
GB rider rode over Mt Ventoux today in an international stage race. She 
was in yellow. The heat was intense as she rode past the memorial to Tom 
Simpson. She was alone, having dropped the rest of the field. She won. 
 From Tony Cooke."
As I read aloud, a far-away look settled over the small ensemble. While 
the rest of the cycling world was seemingly descending into a cesspit of 
deceit, cheating and drug abuse, Nicole Cooke, for it was she, had been 
riding high on that murderously hot mountain in Provence doing her stuff 
for Britain in the Grande Boucle Feminine, the Women's Tour de France.
On a day when the roadside temperature was climbing above 130 degrees — 
as it was on the afternoon Tommy Simpson collapsed and died on Ventoux 
in 1967 — Britain's finest woman rider was making an extra special 
effort to fly the flag. No wonder her proud father couldn't resist 
letting the world at large know. Idealism and romance had not entirely 
deserted the sport of cycling.
Cooke has actually been flying the British flag — and Welsh too, for 
that matter — all year. Descending like an Olympic downhill skier, she 
won the Ventoux stage by four minutes and comfortably claimed the 
overall Tour honours. She then became the first British rider of either 
gender to be ranked No 1 in the world in the International Cycling 
Union's rankings and earlier this month claimed her second individual 
World Cup title, emerging as the world's best woman road racer over a 
series of 12 races worldwide.
And now comes the World Championships in Salzburg this week when she 
goes in the time trial tomorrow and the road race, her specialist event, 
on Saturday. She has taken bronze and silver in the latter at the Worlds 
in the past but 2006 has been a golden summer and anything less will 
disappoint.
"Yes, it's been a great year, I can't deny it, but it will feel 
incomplete unless I can finish the job in Salzburg," Cooke says. "I want 
the gold and I know I am good enough if one of two things go my way but 
I am nervous as well. Cycling is unpredictable. You can, without any 
warning, occasionally have days when your legs feel dead or leaden and 
of course there is always the possibility of an accident or crash.
"At 23 I should be beginning to hit my peak. I came into the 
international sport four or five seasons ago very young and, though I 
was always confident of my ability, it was unrealistic of people to 
expect me to clear up the big titles like I did as a junior. I have had 
to learn my trade.
"A change of team and training routine has given me an extra edge. I 
enjoyed some good years in Italy with the Acca Due O team but it was 
probably time for a change and I am loving life in Switzerland with the 
Univega squad.
"We are based in Zug and I have upped my mileage considerably in 
training — and I thought I was working hard beforehand! 'Pain is 
temporary, glory is permanent', is what I tell myself as we climb the 
last mountain of the day. I am much stronger, more consistent, and that 
breeds confidence. I don't feel daunted by any course or opponent.
"It hasn't been the greatest summer for British sport so I have been 
attracting a bit more media attention than before, which is very nice in 
one way and pleases my sponsor, but I can't afford to be distracted by 
it. The job is nowhere near done. In fact, it has hardly started. People 
have written nice things recently but the fact remains that I have never 
won a senior World Championship and I finished fifth in the Athens 
Olympics. Pretty promising, yes, but so far no more than that. I want to 
start changing that.
"I am going to give the time trial a blast first-up in Salzburg. It's 
not my specialist event at senior level though I won the world juniors a 
few years back but I am in the form of my life and have had two big TT 
wins this year against the world's best. I would rank myself as a very 
dangerous floater who could come good on the day. It's a tough course 
with a steep hill which should suit me. I am going to relax and enjoy 
the day and if feel good, who knows? Nothing, however, will distract me 
from the main event on Saturday."
Earlier this year, at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Cooke fought 
a solitary battle as Wales' lone representative against, in particular, 
the six-strong Team Australia in the road race. Despite riding one of 
the best races of her life, she had to be content with bronze. 
Ultimately even she couldn't cover and chase down every break.
In Salzburg, Cooke will have three other British riders to assist her — 
though none are ranked in the world's top 100 — but happily other 
circumstances will also come into play. Great Britain team manager Shane 
Sutton describes the women's course as a brute — well, it is Austria, so 
you've got to expect a few hills — and according to the experienced 
former Australian Tour de France rider, "natural selection and attrition 
will come into play. There just aren't that many girls physically 
capable of racing that course flat-out for its entirety."
Cooke also believes a large field of about 130 will help. "There will be 
a fair few well-organised teams protecting their best riders and they 
will help organise the chases. The work will be shared around. The main 
thing is to be in contention with 15 kilometres to go."
As a rider Cooke is the full bag of chips. She habitually wins the 
mountain stages of any race — probably the result of her mountain bike 
background in which she was a world junior champion — and is the best 
mixed terrain rider on the women's circuit. She has real, perhaps 
unrealised ability in the time trials and has won her share of sprint 
finishes. Cooke's Achilles' heel, if she has one, is a gung-ho 
'boy-racer' attitude that has seen her pick up career-stalling injuries 
after occasionally unnecessary crashes and her relative inexperience, 
though she is rapidly learning all the tricks of the professional game.
But not drugs. No, nay, never. That's one trick she will never resort 
to. Just not interested. "I would rather quit professional racing 
altogether than contemplate drugs.
"I don't need a number on my back to enjoy cycling. I would do it for 
nothing. I'm not even wildly keen on the legal vitamin tablets and amino 
acids and stuff you can take. A healthy body and a good diet is all you 
need."
There speaks the former schoolgirl academic who nonchalantly recorded 
three grade As in biology, physics and maths A levels — even when she 
opted to take the exams a year young to fit around her training regime 
ahead of what she hoped was going to be her appearance in the 2000 Olympics.
In the end the Great Britain selectors decided, much to her chagrin, 
that the schoolgirl prodigy was too young. Time has moved on, though she 
still seethes about that decision. Pain, however, as she reminded us 
earlier, should only be temporary. It is high time she grabbed some of 
the glory.
-- 
http://modesta.biciticino.ch
Il sito dedicato alla giovane ciclista lituana Modesta Vzesniauskaite

 need."
Good, then maybe she can do away with her power bars and Extran, and all
sports drinks too and just drink water. If you are going to be squeeky clean
rider, then we must do away with all supplements. What a hypocrite, I have
never read anything so ridculous like this.

 truly great women in the sport. 
And this year Fabiana wasn't even able to finish in the top 5 at both 
Giro d'Italia and Giro di Toscana, two of her main goals of this year.
But I don't want to compare Nicole with Fabiana nor I want to speak 
badly about her or other cyclists since I respect Fabiana and all the 
others.
Here all we want is to speak about super Nicole :-)
Let's forget for a moment the Grande Boucle Feminine...Nicole's season 
has really been wonderful. She has won the World Cup, she is number one 
in the world, she was able to win TTs, stage races, one day races, she 
won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games after an incredible race 
(one of her best race in her life)...facing all alone the strong 
Australian team.
I don't know why you consider a cyclist to be a champion only when is 
able to dominate races and to win solo. (we can wonder why Jeanson was 
able to do that in such an impressive way...I still think she was a very 
talented rider...but not only...and now she gets what she deserves...or 
perhaps it was André Aubut's fault...)
Nicole has often to suffer in order to prevail...her great mental 
strength is probably what I more appreciate about her. She is really 
strong mentally and physically. And then she is really a charismatic 
person...she is naturally able to focus the attention on her.
And she really try to help women's cycling to get more attention...she 
really has many skills. She speaks Italian (and also write it pretty 
well), French and she is also learning German since she lives in the 
German area of Switzerland.
I stop here now...I know that you really like her... :-)


 I stop here now...I know that you really like her... :-)
I don't hate Cooke. But perhaps its all the (tabloid) you have posted in
massive amounts that has trolled me out to be critical at times, and support
Luperini since this might be her last year, and she should be getting the
attention here instead of Cooke. I like Neben, Armstrong and Thorburn too,
but you don't see me posting massive amount of posts about them. Armstong
won the worlds TT, and Thorburn got 3rd! Now I posted one time today about
Armstrong, but I will not post 30 times about how great Armstrong is. To the
contrary, in this Italian forum, I mostly post about Luperini, and not that
often. In fact I did it to bring some light to Luperini since the Cooke
postings were overwhelming. Ever Luperini doesn't generate enough interest
here, so I do it sparingly usually because I don't want the Italians to get
mad at me. Even they can only handle so much of Luperini, and they surely
have had a belly full of Cooke!!
However I enjoy talking to you, because I know you are well educated, speak
many languages, and are an huge fan of women's cycling and take great
photos! :-)
Best,
Bruce