 Home star Ljungskog outsprinted Cooke to win in Vargarda |
Nicole Cooke extended her lead in the World Cup standings as she finished second in Sweden's Vargarda race. The 23-year-old Briton was pipped in a sprint to the line as local favourite Susanne Ljungskog powered home to win in three hours, 11 mins and 55 secs.
The second-place finish moved Cook onto 319 points, 99 clear of Germany's Judith Arndt, with Swede Ljungskog third on 167 points.
The next round of the women's World Cup is a time trial in Denmark on Sunday.
Cooke had made the early running in Sweden, breaking away with Ljungskog and France's Magali LeFloch in lap eight.
It left her other main rivals for the title, Arndt and Australian Oenone Wood, in a third group several minutes behind.
In the next lap, LeFloch dropped back to the chasing group of five, leaving Ljungskog and Cooke to fight it out for the line. The chasing pack were 22 seconds behind.
World Cup standings:
1. Nicole Cooke (GB) 319 points
2. Judith Arndt (Ger) 220 pts
3. Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) 167 pts
4. Oenone Wood (Aus) 150 pts
5. Annette Beutler (Swi) 136 pts
6. Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (Ger) 120 pts
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