Cooke - Beijing gold after winning Tour of Malta

British cyclist Nicole Cooke would have never dreamt of winning gold in Beijing eight years ago when, barely 17 years old, she took part and won the Tour of Malta 2000.

It was the first time that the Tour was open for female cyclists and the young Cooke, representing Letchworth Schils, won it convincingly, proving that she could be a future cycling star.

Cooke, born on April 13, 1983 in Swansea, Wales, realised her dream on Sunday, August 10, 2008 in Beijing, when she won the road race in very bad weather to give Great Britain the first Olympic medal out of a haul of 19 golds won. The race was held over 126 kilometres, with 66 cyclists taking part and Cooke won in 3 hours 32 minutes 24 seconds.

The Tour of Malta organising committee congratulated Cooke for her success and invited her to be the guest of honour for the next edition of the race which will take place in March 2009.

This invitation will be passed on personally to Cooke by Jon Miles, the man behind Cooke's participation in the Tour of Malta. Miles has been working very closely with the Malta Cycling Federation and the Tour of Malta organisers for many years now.

He has promised to give the invitation personally to Cooke during a special reception which was held yesterday in Cardiff in honour of the Welsh rider.

Cooke has already thanked Miles for his comments following her thrilling success in Beijing.

She reminded him of all the fun they had together, mentioning her participation in the Tour of Malta and a particular instance where she and an Irish room-mate slept in the morning on the ferry to Gozo.

Meanwhile, the Tour of Malta organizing committee is already working hard for the next edition which will take place between March 25 and 30.

So far, eight foreign teams from four countries have confirmed their participation.

Two teams from England, UK Seniors and Metropolitan Police, and one from Italy, Sikania Bike, will be taking part in the men's race. Team Jollywear, from England, Ulster Cycling and Irish Team, from Ireland, Noord Holland and Red Sun Cycling, from the Netherlands, will be participating in the women's tour.