Nicole CookeNicole Cooke is a Welsh-born cyclist and winner of the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, becoming the first Briton to take home cycling gold. She began cycling competitively at age 11 and secured her first international sucess in 2000 by winning the Junior World Road Race. The following year, she won the Junior World Championships in the Road Race, Time Trial, and Mountain Bike categories. Cooke turned professional in 2002, later winning the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France Feminine stage races, as well as the World Cup Series (twice). Read More Read Less