The breakaway : my story

The Sunday Times Sport Book Of The Year A Retirement Statement From A Sports Star Rarely Causes A Flicker, But Nicole Cooke Went Out As She Rode Her Bike: Giving It Her All. The Contrast Could Not Have Been Greater - As Lance Armstrong, A Fraudster Backed By Many Corporate Sponsors And Feted By Presidents, Was About To Deliver A Stage-managed Confession To Oprah, So A Young Woman From A Small Village In Wales Took Aim. She Too Had Been A Cyclist, The Only Rider Ever To Have Become World And Olympic Champion In The Same Year, And The First British Cyclist To Have Been Ranked World No.1, But As A Woman In A Man's Sport, Her Exploits Gained Little Recognition And Brought No Riches. She Too Had Ridden Through This Dark Period For The Sport When Drug-taking Was Everywhere. Nicole Cooke Spoke Up For Those Who Had Taken A Very Different Path To Lance And His Team-mates. In Her Frank And Outspoken Autobiography, Cooke Reveals The Real Story Behind British Cycling's Rise To Global Dominance. With A Child's Dreams Of Success, She Left Home At 18 To Pursue Her Goals In Italy. Broken Contracts, Unpaid Wages, A Horrendous Injury And Drugs Cheats Were Just Some Of The Challenges She Faced, Even Before She Lined Up To Take On Her Opponents. The Breakaway Is A Book That Will Not Only Inspire All Those Who Read It, But Which Also Asks Some Serious Questions About The Way Society Regards Women's Sport.