COOKE TO LEAD MAJOR BRITISH-BACKED PRO TEAM

Nicole Cooke world championships 2006

Nicole Cooke will be the leader of a British-sponsored professional team in 2008 after leaving the Raleigh-Lifeforce squad.

British Cycling's performance director David Brailsford has agreed a deal with a major sponsor to put Britain's first professional women's team on the road.

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Sports journalist Lionel Birnie has written professionally for Sunday Times, Procycling and of course Cycling Weekly. He is also an author, publisher, and co-founder of The Cycling Podcast. His first experience covering the Tour de France came in 1999, and he has presented The Cycling Podcast with Richard Moore and Daniel Friebe since 2013. He founded Peloton Publishing in 2010 and has ghostwritten and published the autobiography of Sean Kelly, as well as a number of other sports icons.