Cooke maintains lead in World Cup standings

Nicole Cook earlier last year in Montreal

Montreal, Canada - World Cup round 6

Nicole Cooke will travel back from Canada with a sense of relief that her main rival for the title - Marianne Vos of the Netherlands was only able to close down her lead from 56 points to 53. Vos has been in unstoppable form lately, having a fantastic Tour de L'Aude, winning many stages.

The winner was the multi winner of the Italian Giro and Tour De France - Fabiana Luperini (Ita). She achieved her first major result in the World Cup this year with a superb ride. She spotted the exact moment to seize her opportunity and rode confidently to the finish, despite being accompanied by two other riders.

On Lap 2 of 11 a break was made by the Melissa Holt(NZ) and Ekaterina Malomura ((Rus). These two were allowed to stay away for several laps but were never allowed to get much more than 1 minute ahead. Each time up Mount Royal, past the huge crowd, the field was stretched and a few riders dropped off the back of the bunch never to regain contact.

At lap 7, the 140 strong peloton split apart under pressure from T Mobile and Team Nurnberger. All the favourites made a group of around 20 that quickly absorbed the break. A number of following riders chased hard and the group had increased in size by the start of the next ascent. Here Luperini made her attack and took with her Pitel (Fra) and Abbott (USA). They quickly opened up a gap to over a minute, as the chasers behind contemplated the difficulties of helping each other. T Mobile's Arndt wanted to win here like she did last year but could not take Cooke and Vos with her. Worrack(Ger) was in a similar situation. Vos wanted the win to close up on Cooke's World Cup lead but did not want to create the platform for either Worrack, Arndt or Cooke to jump away from her.

Next time up Mount Royal, Abbott made a huge effort and Pitel, who had been 2nd to Cooke in the Grande Boucle last year, was shed. Luperini and Abbott worked very effectively together to the finish. Behind, on the climb, the chase group became 11. Significantly It included 3 riders from T Mobile - Arndt, Beltman and sprinter Wood. Attacks came thick and fast as riders attempted to jump up to the leaders either alone or in two's and threes. Americans Armstrong and Thorburn seemed like they would escape at one stage but Worrack Vos and Arndt chased them down.

As the bell sounded Luperini and Abbott were maintaining their lead. Beltman (Ned) and the veteran Longo (Fra) were frantically chasing ahead of Thorburn and Armstrong with a group of 7 behind. The group caught each pair and then on the hill for the final time the Group came down to just 7 riders. T Mobile still had 2 riders present - Wood for the sprint and Arndt for a break. On the descent each of Worrack and Longo tried to break away but it was Arndt who had the timing all right and attacked superbly to get away, for third. Vos and Worrack chased but were not assisted by Wood or Cooke.

Luperini and Abbott had the luxury of a fair sprint for the line with no fear of being caught. Luperini crossed the line for her first World Cup win in 3 years and an excellent result for her Menikin team. Arndt was comfortable in 3rd place, making the podium for the 2nd year in a row.

Behind, Vos showed she is obviously the number 1 sprinter in the World by beating Cooke and Wood. This week Vos has taken the World Number 1 spot from Cooke edging just 0.67 of a point ahead. The Raleigh - Lifeforce -Creation team of Cooke retain World Number 1 team status. This was the 10th time the race has been run off and as well as having the largest field was probably the most aggressive edition to date.

Cooke stated :

"I enjoyed today. It's always a good course and a nice atmosphere here in Montreal. I am happy with fifth place, it was a good job today and I'm really looking forward to the second half of the season. I've got a nice lead in the World Cup and I'm ready to keep on going. The racing season is very long and there are races every week. Early in the season I had superb form. At the current time both Judith (Arndt) and Marianne (Vos) have superb form. Winning the World Cup is incredibly difficult. There are 3 rounds left. I came here with a lead of 56 points. I could lose that lead in one race. Instead I go from here with the lead intact. I have a strong team and good organisation around me. I intend to do all I can to make sure I win the World Cup again."

And when asked about what she felt about not being World Number 1 anymore?

I felt great pride to be the first ever British rider - male or female to be World number 1. I would have liked to retain that position for over a year but it was not to be. Marianne is a fantastic athlete and wins lots of races. That is how you become World number 1. I have had great form and beaten Marianne and now she has great form and is beating me. Becoming World Number 1 in road cycling is fantastically difficult. There are hundreds of riders trying to beat you ever race. They are all changing form each race. Each course is different and suits different athletic attributes. Team tactics come into play in virtually every race. I am very determined that the remainder of my season is going to work out well. It will take a lot of training and hard work but I am going to give it everything I have got.

The remaining rounds of the World Cup are: