Cooke fourth in Emakumeen Bira after two stage wins

Nicole Cooke has placed fourth overall in the Emakumeen Bira stage race in Spain after winning two stages.

The last day of the Emakumeen-Bira was won by Judith Arndt (Columbia-Highroad) who also won overall. Cooke was fourth on the stage and successfully defended her fourth place overall.

"I crested the final climb with the leaders but on the wet roads I was not ready to take any risks in the last downhill towards the finish and they dropped me there," Cooke said after the stage.

"The results show that we are on the right way and all the riders are motivated and getting great results, having three riders in the top 10 overall is fantastic."

The Vision 1 team leader and current women's road race world champion won stage 2 and 3b in the four day, five stage race. Cooke wore the leader's jersey after winning stage two, but lost the lead after stage three's short uphill time trial, where she came 12th.

Overall, Cooke's Vision 1 squad had a good race, placing three riders in the top ten. Along with Cooke's fourth spot, France's Christelle Ferrier posted seventh and Australian Vicki Whitelaw came 10th.

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