Cycling: The hard road to equality

Athens 2004: Nicole Cooke

When the Women's Sports Foundation convened recently to bemoan the lack of publicity given to their side of the playing field, they were told by the new UK Sport chairman, Sue Campbell, that the way to achieve recognition in the media and among the masses was to "go out and win something".

They seemed to get the message, and it is one that will be carried to Athens next summer, where it could just be that Britain's best gold-medal prospects turn out to be female. There is runner Paula Radcliffe, of course, modern pentathlon's Georgina Harland, eventer Pippa Funnell and yachtswoman Shirley Robertson, all currently in pole position for the rostrum. And coming up fast, as is her habit, is 20-year-old cyclist Nicole Cooke, the best woman road-racer Britain has seen since the days when the dour, doughty Yorkshire housewife Beryl Burton showed the men a clean pair of wheels.

In only her second year on the women's world circuit Cooke, from the pretty village of Wick, near the South Wales coast, became the youngest-ever winner of the women's World Cup, and the first Briton - an achievement which has secured her Olympic berth.

She says she can't wait to start pedalling for gold in Athens, where her main rivals will come from Sweden, Holland, Spain and Canada. "But if tactics go their way, there are probably around 15 riders who could come through and win," she says. So could she if she maintains the form and resolve which has elevated her to world No 4.

But do not talk to her about photo-finishes. Currently she is recovering from a freak mishap when she knelt on a photo album and inflamed membranes in her knee. She will not be training again until February, and hopes to start racing in earnest in March.

She lives with her parents in Wales during most of the winter, but from February to October is based in Italy, just outside Treviso in the foothills of the Dolomites, with her team, Acca Due O, the name of the sponsoring water-treatment company, for whom she rides professionally.

"Unfortunately women's cycling in Britain is not very strong, which is why I had to move abroad." She is the "Numero Uno" of her team, which means the other riders protect her. "But what's beautiful about cycling is that not every day is suited to me. There might be a flat day where one of my team-mates is a really good sprinter, and we'll all work for her. It's payback time, and then they'll help me again."

Her team are one of the most prestigious in Italy, where she says the appreciation of the sport is totally different. "There they really know what it is all about. They line the roads, they cheer you all the way, and if you're walking by a little café they will recognise you and ask you in for a cappuccino. In the UK, what you hear when you're on a bike is usually, 'Cor, look at the legs on that!' In Italy, all they are really interested in is how well you race. There is understanding about the sport, and a passion which you don't get here."

She shares a house with seven team-mates, and has learned Italian. So is there an Italian boyfriend? She laughs: "No, I'm afraid when it comes to men, all the Italian stereotypes are true."

But apart from her dad and brother, both cyclists, there is an important man in her life. Sir Steve Redgrave is her mentor under the Visa/BOA scheme. "He may not be a cyclist, but it's good to have someone with Olympic experience to answer your queries and explain certain situations. Sometimes it's better to have that outside perspective than have someone who is actually in the sport. It gives you a reality check and keeps things in proportion."

Although she was South Wales schools junior cross-country champion, cycling has always been her first love. "We had bikes for as long as I can remember and always went on tandem holidays. I was always on the back behind my mum, with my brother on the other bike with my dad."

Voted the Welsh Sports Personality of the Year, Cooke has done nothing but road race since the age of 12, and has been full-time in the sport since completing her A-levels. In Athens, she will be on the road considerably longer than the marathoners, tackling the heat, the dust and the hazardous hills for some three hours around a roller-coaster course with five hairpin bends, three 90-degree corners and a cobblestone run-in as they pass the Acropolis. "It's not just all about your legs. It's tactics, too, knowing your opponents' weaknesses and knowing when it is best to attack."

She feels strongly about feminist issues in sport, and was among the delegates at the WSF conference. "I think that as women in general, and cyclists in particular, we get a bit of a rough deal in terms of coverage in relation to what we achieve. I don't think the recognition is there, and in cycling itself the balance between men and women is way out of proportion. Maybe the Olympics will be the time when we will be able to redress this. I'd like to be remembered as the best woman cyclist ever." Now that would be something to write home about.