Nicole Cooke's glittering career in pictures

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Nicole Cooke, on her first racing bike aged nine, near her home in south Wales
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Later to become Britain's most successful female road racer - Nicole Cooke, on her first bike aged nine, near her home in south Wales

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By her mid-teens Cooke was competing for honours in junior mountain biking

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And in 2002, Cooke took road racing gold for Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester

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Nicole Cooke poses at Southerndown near her home in the Vale of Glamorgan before the 2004 Athens Olympics, where she finished fifth

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Four years later in Beijing, Cooke fulfils her Olympic ambitions and starts Great Britain's gold rush with a stunning win in the women's road race

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Cooke flies the Welsh flag after following up Olympic glory by winning the 2008 women's world road racing title in Varese, Italy

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Cooke also played her part at the 2012 London Olympics, helping support Lizzie Armistead (second left) win silver in the women's road race