A record breaker at every stage of her career, Nicole Cooke MBE became the first rider to win the Olympic Road Race and World Road Race Championships in the same year, Nicole is also a two time-winner of the Tour de France and the youngest winner of the Giro D’Italia.
As a pioneer for cycling in Britain Nicole had to create her own path to the top, she is the first British woman to win an Olympic gold in cycling, first ever British World Number 1 and first ever British winner of a World Cup.
As she soon found out, she had to compete against more than just her competitors and is widely commended for having campaigned for recognition and equality for female athletes, and spoken out against doping in sport. Nicole’s efforts have shaped both cycling and women's sport in Britain.
Nicole wrote her autobiography, The Breakaway, which is a very personal account of her racing career. It begins with her first experiences of cycling on tandem holidays with her family through to leaving home at 18 to move to Italy to join her first professional team, Nicole shares the many highs and lows of life as a female pro cyclist on the way to reaching her dream of Olympic gold.