Sports Personality of the Month

Each month we bring you a sports personality thanks to EAS. The company supplies and sponsors numerous world-class athletes and is increasingly being recognised as providing 'products the pros use'.

This month meet Nicole Cooke , newly crowned the world's number one ladies' cyclist and World Cup Winner

Elite cyclist Nicole Cooke, 23, has just won the 2006 World Cup Championship. She is now officially the top rider in the World, having risen to Number 1 in the UCI World rankings for the first time. This achievement, coupled with her no-nonsense, self effacing attitude and sheer dedication and commitment to her sport has put Nicole in the front running for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year award - another accolade she fully deserves this year.

Nicole has had a terrific 2006 season and has gone from strength to strength. After achieving a Bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games, she got stronger and stronger, culminating in her World Cup victory in September. The World Cup comprises a series of one-day races held across the World and through the year. Points are awarded for finishing positions in each race and the winner is the rider at the end of the season with most points. At the penultimate stage Nicole was so far ahead she couldn't be beaten!

In the last few years Nicole has enjoyed a steady stream of success i n the incredibly hard discipline of road racing, often termed 'the king of sports'. She has a string of firsts to her name.

•  In 2004 she became the first British rider, either male or female, to ever win a major Tour (Women's Tour of Italy).

•  In 2003, she became Britain's first ever winner of the World Cup.

•  In 2001 she became the first rider, either male or female, to win the British Road Race and Cyclo Cross titles, as well as the youngest ever winner of each.

Even as a Junior, Nicole had a formidable record, winning World Championships in Road, Time Trial and Mountain Biking .

Nicole suffered a set back before the 2004 Olympic Games when she needed major surgery on her knee. She came 5 th in the Games, but given the rehabilitation time required after the operation, it is remarkable that she was even there. She certainly has her sights firmly set on Olympic victory in 2008.

Nicole was born and raised in Cardiff. Her parents encouraged both Nicole and her brother to cycle from an early age. Her father, who raced to National British standard home and abroad, has always been very supportive and continues to be Nicole's mentor and manager.

She had her first bike aged four, which was "a strange fixed wheel bike with one front brake and solid tyres." When she was seven Nicole was allowed to choose her own bike - she went for a racer with dropped handlebars! Her first race was in 1994 when she was 11 - and there's been no stopping her since.

Nicole now lives and trains most of the year in Switzerland with her German/Swiss team Univega-Lifeforce-Raleigh.

Where Does Nicole Find Her Energy?

One of the key elements Nicole attributes to her success is the EAS Energy sports nutrition that she enjoys to support her training, performance and recovery. " EAS is essential to my success this year as it has enabled me to train harder, compete most effectively and recover swiftly. Even after the most arduous race, I'm up and ready to go again the following day which, at the height of the season is absolutely essential ," says Nicole. Her favourite is the EAS Energy Gel. " The Energy Gel gives me that essential boost that I need in the final closing metres of a race: it gives me a definite edge right when I need it to sprint ahead ," she says.

Guaranteed Doping Free

Elite athletes at the top of their game opt for EAS secure in the knowledge that every product is guaranteed doping free and a ll its EU manufactured products are subjected to stringent independent batch tests in laboratories accredited to ISO 17025

Next Month : Meet Jason White, Scotland Rugby Captain and Sale Sharks flanker.