Where's Nicole Cooke these days?

AndyRubio

Has she retired?

RichN95.

She rides for the Cipollini team.

calvjones

Won anything?

Pross

She was injured / ill for most of last season IIRC.

Tom Butcher

Yes her palmares looks a bit thin the last few years - though she looked strong at the nationals (stronger than Pooley) and the Commonwealths. What is the injury - still that longstanding knee problem ?

lucybears

latest interviews

PEZ-Clusive: Olympic Champion Nicole Cooke!
November 25, 2010
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fulls ... tatus=True

Bringing la Passione: Eight Questions with Nicole Cooke
Dec 15, 2010
http://www.podiumcafe.com/2010/12/15/18 ... cole-cooke

Nicole Cooke and the new MCipollini
March 27, 2011
http://www.cicloweb.it/articolo/2011/03 ... llini.html

http://translate.google.com/translate?j ... llini.html


GP Costa Etrusca March 20, 2011
1. OLDS - EVANS Shelley
2. VERBEKE Grace
3. BRAS Martine
4. BLAAK Chantal
5. COOKE Nicole

hammerite

Please don't flame me for this as I won't be around to defend my comments!

Am I wrong in thinking that she has (had) team issues? I know she didn't like the Cervelo riders working together in the nationals, and had problems with her own team she set up. But I'd have thought any other trade team would love to have had her on board when her team folded, yet she struggled to find anyone to ride with (or just didn't want to).

Is she too much of an individual to ever fit in to team riding? Is women's riding more organised than it has been in the past so people who are more "individual" riders are less likely to be as successful as those who ride with in well drilled teams.

inkyfingers

hammerite wrote:

Please don't flame me for this as I won't be around to defend my comments!

Am I wrong in thinking that she has (had) team issues? I know she didn't like the Cervelo riders working together in the nationals, and had problems with her own team she set up. But I'd have thought any other trade team would love to have had her on board when her team folded, yet she struggled to find anyone to ride with (or just didn't want to).

Is she too much of an individual to ever fit in to team riding? Is women's riding more organised than it has been in the past so people who are more "individual" riders are less likely to be as successful as those who ride with in well drilled teams.

I have heard rumours that she is not the easiest person to work with and that's why she struggled to find a team last year.

andrew_s

After the worlds & olympics in 2008, she tried to start her own team in 2009. Trying to run the team, find sponsorship etc seemed to affect her racing.
That team folded, and for 2010 she signed with the Nurnburger team, which had been one of the biggest teams for several years, but which was in the process of changing main sponsors.
The sponsor withdrew and the team folded right at the start of last season, when no other teams had any significant budget for new extra riders. Nicole and the others spent the year mostly on occasional rides for their national teams.

stagehopper

She finished fourth in the last World RR at end of 2010 when her late breakaway with Judith Ardnt was just caught on the line. Signed for new Italian team this year:

http://www.mcipollinigiordanateam.com/

which is the female partner team of the Farnese Veri men's team and has the 2007, 2008 and 2009 world champions riding for it.

Last two years a combination of two teams folding and illness affected her racing programme. Pulled out of Flanders last week so not sure if she picked up an injury prior to the race.

Pross

inkyfingers wrote:

hammerite wrote:

Please don't flame me for this as I won't be around to defend my comments!

Am I wrong in thinking that she has (had) team issues? I know she didn't like the Cervelo riders working together in the nationals, and had problems with her own team she set up. But I'd have thought any other trade team would love to have had her on board when her team folded, yet she struggled to find anyone to ride with (or just didn't want to).

Is she too much of an individual to ever fit in to team riding? Is women's riding more organised than it has been in the past so people who are more "individual" riders are less likely to be as successful as those who ride with in well drilled teams.

I have heard rumours that she is not the easiest person to work with and that's why she struggled to find a team last year.

I've heard the same from a few people who know her well. Apparently she has always expected everyone to work for her and a well known local rider / team manager had to have a few words with her in the build up to the Olympics to persuade her to be more of a team player.

pedro118118

I remember her Olympic gold - the hugs and kisses at the end between the likes of Pooley, Laws etc seemed incredibly strained and the faces of the other girls didn't exactly convey unbridle joy and pride at Nicole's win. Her moaning at last year's British RR was also pretty poor form.

Le Commentateur

Well, the feeble economic state of womens cycling means the top riders have in the past had to be very self-centred in order to survive. Hanka Kupfernagel's falling out with the German federation a couple of years back is another example. They spend their early careers having to fend for themselves and so are not wired up to be 'team players'.