 Cooke also won the Italian race in 2002 and 2005 |
World number one Nicole Cooke got her 2007 European campaign under way with a dominant victory in the 102km Costa Etrusca race in Italy. Battling wintry weather conditions, Cooke pulled away with 1.5km left to ride to a superb solo finish.
The Welsh cyclist, 23, finished 10 seconds clear of Italian Fabiana Luperini and Swiss Nicole Brandli.
Cooke, the World Cup champion, continued her good form after winning the first World Cup race in Australia.
She will continue the title defence in the next round in Belgium on 8 April.
Cooke praised the efforts of her Raleigh team after winning her third Costa Etrusca title in difficult conditions.
"Having team-mates protecting me prior to the first selection at 68km was great," said Cooke.
"They worked really well and it is gratifying that I was able to reward their efforts with the win.
"With the weather so bad at one stage I was thinking that to get to the end of the race in one piece would be a success!"
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 