Cooke's overall World Cup lead looks good with two rounds left

Closest rival Marianne Vos finished two places ahead of the Welshwoman in Sweden, but Cooke's lead is still healthy with just two rounds remaining.

Chantal Beltman of T-Mobile, who took last week's Thuringen Rundfahrt, won the race thanks to a gutsy attack.

The Dutchwoman broke away with Cooke's Raleigh Lifeforce Creation HB team-mate Karin Thurig, winning in 3hr 22.52min.

Team DSB Bank rider Vos was shadowed by Cook, determined not to let her closest rival break away, and the Dutchwoman's 10th place only gained her two points on Cooke in the overall standings.

"It was a great race for Raleigh Lifeforce Creation HB, a great team performance all round," Cooke said.

"We achieved our two aims, which were to get a rider on the podium - Karin Thurig did a great job getting second place - and I was able to maintain my lead in the World Cup."

Raleigh Lifeforce Creation have an almost unassailable position in the Team Competition, leading the overall table with 454 points - 98 points ahead of the nearest rivals.

The penultimate round of the World Cup is Cooke's next race, the GP de Plouay in France on 1 September.

The finale of the World Cup season is 15 days after that in Germany, where Cooke will aim to retain her World Cup crown at the double-pointer Rund um die Nurnberger Altstadt.