She attended Brynteg Comprehensive School in Bridgend,[6] where she gained the Rankin Prize, awarded each year for the highest academic achievement by a girl at GCE A Levels.

Later that year Cooke won her second senior women's title at the 2001 British National Road Race Championships.

[10] As a result of this achievement she was awarded the 2001 Bidlake Memorial Prize for outstanding performance or contribution to British cycling.

Cooke said her strength left her in her first Tour de France, aged 19, and a meeting in the team campervan suggested "medicines" to help her.

She hit a stationary police motorbike in June at the Tour du Grand Montréal[20] required stitches in her left knee.

[24] The following month Cooke won the Giro d'Italia Femminile, the youngest winner and the first British cyclist, male or female, to win a Grand Tour.

[28] In October 2005 the Welsh Cycling Union (WCU) selection commission decided to send a full team of six male riders to the 2006 Commonwealth Games, centered on supporting the aspirations of the National Coach Julian Winn, but also decided that Cooke would be sent as a one-person team to defend her title.

[29] In April 2016 Cooke would cite this as an example of the sexist attitudes of the sport she encountered throughout her career in an article – Welcome to the world of elite cycling where sexism is by design.

[32] In her autobiography Cooke wrote "By their decision the WCU had gifted Australia, Canada, England and New Zealand my head on a plate".

[40] She also won the Trofeo Alfredo Binda for a second time, the Tour of Geelong,[41] stage 2 of the GP Costa Etrusca[42] and defended her Grande Boucle title.

Her first victory of 2008 was the Tour de l'Aude, in which she rode with a Great Britain national team, taking the first stage and finishing fourth overall.

[47] On 28 June, Cooke won her ninth national road race champion title, and her eighth consecutive win.

She became the first cyclist, male or female, of any nation, to become the road race World Champion and Olympic gold medalist in the same year.

[49] An eventful race in Varese, Italy lasted 3 hours 42 minutes and 11 seconds, culminating in a sprint beating Marianne Vos in to 2nd place and Judith Arndt in 3rd.

It is aimed at cyclists at all levels, with expert advice on everything from getting started to turning competitive, covering commuting, racing and riding with friends.

[3][4] In a speech to journalists confirming her retirement, Cooke "exposed every aspect of corruption in professional cycling, from doping to gross gender inequality.

It took 20 minutes to deliver and was met by journalists by stunned silence then applause"[57] This caused Forbes to title their article "The Anti-Lance Armstrong".

[64][32] In January 2017, Cooke gave written[65] and oral[66] evidence to the Parliamentary Select Committee for Culture, Media and Sport inquiry into Combatting Doping in Sport and stated that her information about doping in cycling, given as evidence to UKAD was subsequently not investigated by UKAD.

[67] The Independent stated "Former Olympic and world champion cyclist Nicole Cooke has issued a damning attack on British Cycling and Team Sky, condemning the governing bodies for their lack of accountability, sexism, and failure to fight the abuse of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) within the sport".