Pooley deprives Cooke of national crown

Nicole Cooke says the manner in which she lost her British Road Race Championships crown to rival Emma Pooley was not "fair".

Pooley was able to race alongside Cervelo team-mates Lizzie Armitstead and Sharon Laws, which Welsh cyclist Cooke believes gave her an advantage.

"The three riders teamed together against me," Cooke told BBC Wales.

"When three riders are racing with that type of attitude it makes it very hard to have a fair race."

Cooke had won the previous nine national titles but finished Sunday's race in Pendle, Lancashire, in third place behind Pooley and Armitstead.

The women's race had been halted soon after the start when a pile-up saw a number of riders injured.

The distance of the restarted race was halved from eight laps to four.

There is no team prize in the British Road Race Championships and Cooke feels that competitors should ride as individuals, rather than taking advantage of having team-mates alongside.

Olympic road race gold medallist Cooke races in the Great Britain vest as she is not currently part of a professional team, following the collapse in 2009 of her own Vision One Racing outfit.

"Even though I was able to put in the attacks and drop most of them, it all came back together and it was very hard circumstances," Cooke added.

"Unfortunately I can't say that it was a fair race in that respect, so disappointing for me but I know I did give my best.

"I was happy with my performance and with the way I rode, and that I raced to win not to try and get someone else to win."

However, immediately after the race Pooley had denied that there had been any intent to gang up on the defending champion: "I think Nicole thought she had to chase because while we don't ride [as] a team, I didn't think Lizzie or Sharon were going to chase me."

Cooke had a similar complaint after the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where she found herself outgunned by the combined efforts of a six-strong Australian entry and having to settle for bronze behind home riders Natalie Bates and Oenone Wood.

The 27-year-old Cooke admits that there are talented Welsh riders coming through, but that she is unlikely to be able to compete on an equal footing at this year's Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, against the massed cyclists of Australia and England.

As a result Cooke says her "big target" is the Road World Championships in Geelong, Australia, which take place between 29 September and 3 October - finishing on the day that Delhi begins its programme of sports.

Cooke was speaking at her former school, Brynteg Comprehensive in Bridgend, at the launch of a Sport Wales scheme called Young Ambassadors Wales, which aims to recognise and reward committed sports leaders.

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