 Cooke won the women's equivalent of the Tour de France this year |
Wales' Nicole Cooke has become the first British cyclist to top the world road race rankings. The 23-year-old jumped from fourth to first place after finishing second and first in events last weekend.
Cooke has won the Grande Boucle Feminine - the women's equivalent of the Tour de France - and the Thuringen Rundfahrt in Germany this season.
No British rider, male of female, has made the top 20 of the world road race rankings before.
Indeed there is not a single British male rider listed in the 166 riders who have gained points on the men's Pro Tour.
Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, who is awaiting the results of his B sample after testing positive for testosterone, is second in the rankings behind Alejandro Valverde Belmonte of Spain.
Former Commonwealth Games champion Cooke has a 118-point lead over German Judith Arndt in the International Cycling Union women's rankings.
She is already the favourite to repeat her victory of 2003 in the season-long Women's World Cup.
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