Nicole Cooke retires

[Martin Moore]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/20946301

Shame, I remember the RR at Beijing where she dropped back before winning. She's had a bloody good career, but in reality wasn't at the top any more.

[Pete Appleby 3]

Its going to be interesting as to what she is going to be saying about the sport, not best pleased with the UCI

[timothy.john]

A great servant of British cycle sport and sadly under appreciated. Cooke's achievement in winning world and Olympic road titles has only been equalled by Marianne Vos, now regarded in most quarters as the best rider in the world. The first of her back-to-back victories in the Grand Boucle Feminine came in 2006 when the men's race was 'won' by Floyd Landis in 2006. Little wonder she won't be buying Tyler Hamilton's book.

[Paul4]

Talking of Tyler Hamilton, I read that she commented about Hamilton earning more from writing a book about how he cheated that she earnt from spending a career cycling cleanly. Yet another shining example of why we can only hope that cycling has turned a corner.

[Mike the bike]

For me, she epitomised the spirit of the true competitor. Gritty, courageous and blessed with a rare talent, she raced the only way she knew how, at full throttle. And if that meant upsetting some people along the way, so be it.

I hope she stays close to cycling in some capacity, there is a world of experience and ideas in that stubborn head.

[chris bagust]

Yup, she's been truly great. The first Brit to win the TDF !!

[freester]

It's a tough hard read - her full retirement statement. Worth Googling and reading if you've got 10-20 mins to spare.

[coolboarder]

If she had been a man and raced with the success she has had she would have earned a fortune and been a household name like Cav and Wiggo. A sad reflection on women's cycling. I can recall the time when I looked at the cycling results each morning for a glimmer of a British result, then along came Nicole and Cav, first in disbelief, then in expectation as she won all the women's races and Cav won all the men's - it almost became a let-down when they didn't win. A sign of how far British cycling has come. Sounds like an obituary but hopefully, if she's not so disillusioned she walks away, she still has a lot to give to cycling as an intelligent, perspicacious and confident personality.