Nicole has won the biggest Time Trial of her career. She took the TT Magali Pache in Lausanne ahead of a strong field including Commonwealth games Time Trial Champion Oenone Wood who finshed 58" back in fifth.

Nicole is the new leader of the World Cup Series. She took the overall leaders jersey finishing fifth in the Berner Rundfahrt behind Zoulfia Zabirova.

Nicole has won Flèche Wallonne for the third time outpowering her rivals on the final metres of the infamous Mur de Huy climb to take her first World Cup victory of 2006. Alejandro Valverde won the men's event.

Team Univega-Raleigh-Lifeforce filled the top three places in La Coppa Espagna over the weekend 8th-9th April. Nicole finished 2nd behind team mate Priska Doppman in the two day event.

Nicole finished 6th in the Tour of Flanders. The race was won by Mirjam Melchers for the second year in a row with Nicole's Univega-Raleigh-Lifeforce team mate Christiane Soeder second.

Nicole was delighted for Christiane and happy with her own sixth place after outsprinting former World Champions Judith Arndt and Susanne Ljunskog.

Nicole picked up 18 points and is tneth overall in the standings with 42 after three rounds. Ina Teutenberg picked up none in Flanders finishing 11th but still leads overall.

On Sunday 2nd April Nicole returns to European racing with round 3 of the World Cup in Belgium. After two rounds down under the Ronde Van Vlaandaren is Nicole's first continental race in Univega-Raleigh-Lifeforce colours.

After the hard work of riding alone in melbourne it means she'll have the support of five riders for the race which in English is the Tour of Flanders. They Univega-Raleigh-Lifeforce team will be:

21 Nicole Cooke (GBr)
22 Priska Doppmann (Swi)
23 Christiane Soeder AUR
24 Joanne Kiesanowski (NZl)
25 Sarah Düster (Ger)
26 Emma Rickards (Aus)

The race is 111 km between Oudenaarde and Ninove-Meerbeke.
It's run over part of the course followed by the men on the same day, taking in 12 climbs and three of the difficult flat cobbled sections that the men face.

Last years race ended in confusion when the main group including Nicole were sent the wrong way near the finish.