 Cooke has started the season in style |
Welsh cyclist Nicole Cooke began the defence of her World Cup crown in style with victory in the first race of the 2007 competition in Geelong, Australia. Cooke, 23, held off the bunch and outsprinted Australians Oenone Wood and Nikki Egyed after 120km on the road.
The world number one had already become the first non-Australian to win the Geelong Tour earlier in the week.
"The way it all panned out, it's one of the most fantastic wins of my career, a classic road race victory," Cooke said.
"It was a mixture of tactics and power that saw me through.
"I've won the World Cup series twice before but have always started slowly and made up the points in mid-season.
"To get the early win, psychological advantage, and the series leaders' jersey is just fantastic."
It was Cooke's second trip to Australia for racing after producing one of the performances of last year's Melbourne Commonwealth Games to finish third in the road race.
606 DEBATE: Give your thoughts on Cooke's performance
She and her Raleigh team had been training there for a month, and her preparation paid off handsomely on Saturday.
Almost 100 riders from 17 countries began the race and almost immediately had to contend with a fierce thunderstorm.
But the skies cleared by the time they headed into the second of eight laps of the 15-kilometre circuit.
The second round of the World Cup series takes place in Belgium next month.
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Interview: Nicole Cooke