 Cooke will miss out on a chance to race the 2004 Olympic course |
Nicole Cooke has withdrawn from the European Under-23 Championships in Athens in order to concentrate on her World Cup challenge. "At the start of the year when we sat down to work out my objectives for the season we opted for the Europeans in August and the Worlds in October," she told her official website.
"What we didn't expect was to do so well in the World Cup (where she currently tops the rankings), and we've decided it's much more important not to waste that opportunity."
The decision denies the Wick cyclist the chance to get in a race on the course that will be used for the 2004 Olympic Games.
"It is a shame in a way, but it's not much of a problem really - I'll just go out and check out the course during the winter," said Cooke.