December

Nicole was runner up in the BBC Wales Sports Personality Award 2008.

She was also nominated on a short list of 10 contenders for the UK National BBC award won by rtiple Gold Medal Track Cyclist Chris Hoy.

Nicole attended the Welsh ceremony in Cardiff for the award also decided by public phone-in. World Rugby Player of the Year Shane Williams was voted BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year, with Nicole polling the second highest votes total, and three times winner Joe Calzaghe in third.

Nicole previously won the award in 2003.

October

Following Nicole's World and Olympic success October is a chance to take a short holiday and then cram in a round of media and other off the bike commitments before returning to a winter training programme in preparation for 2009.

Having already had a photo shoot makeover for Hello magazine Nicole has numerous TV and public appearances lined up as well as signing sessions for her new book 'Cycle for Life'.

On October 12th she appeared at the Cycle Show in London to promote the book and talk to fans about her Golden season.

Further book signings are arranged as follows:

Wednesday 15 October
St Paul's Bikehut, Paternoster Square, London 12.15-1.15pm.

Thursday 30 October
Waterstones Cardiff 1.30-2.30.

On Monday 13th she appeared on GMTV's Lorraine Kelly Show in the morning before attending the Woman of the Year lunch, and then filming an episode of BBC TV's Question of Sport in the afternoon.

On Thursday 16th it's the Olympic Heroes Parade in London followed by a reception with the Queen at Buckingham Palace, with more interview and photo shoots at the end of the week.

If you'd like to spend an evening talking with, and hearing from Nicole in London on 29th October, you could win one of a just 50 places at an event organised by her sponsors EAS. Just visit cyclingweekly for details and your chance to enter.

September

"I'd ridden the course several times because it is close to home, and I knew it was a tough final sprint. I didn't want to go early as 100m can seem like 200 at the end of a long race. I saw the orange jersey come by and just knew all I could do was get into the slipstream and keep going all the way to the line. I did not know what would happen but I just tried my best in the sprint, and was able to use the slipstream effect to get past her."

“I don’t think I’ve realized yet what I’ve done. It was a dream come true in Beijing, and I was relaxed today because I had achieved my goal for the season with the Olympics. The team plan we had before the race also gave me a lot of confidence and you can only do your best and that is what I did in the end. It wasn’t really tactics, but some of it was instinct. It was more just knowing my limits and doing what’s possible."

"It is great to win and share the podium with great competitors," she added, paying tribute to Arndt and Vos. "I have a lot of respect for all the riders here. I’m very proud of what I achieved today.”

Returning to racing after her Olympic success, at the start of September Nicole won the opening stage of the Tour de L'Ardèche. She comfortably took out a bunch sprint from Susanne Ljunskog as a group of 46 riders completed the 128 kilometres in 3 hours 31 minutes 50 seconds.

95 riders were taking part in the 5 day, 6 stage race. Amber Neben won the Overall Classification, with Nicole 6th and winner of both the Points and Sprints competitions.

At the World's In Varese at the end of the month she'll ride the Road Race on Saturday 27th, but not the Time Trial 3 days earlier.

August

"It's a dream come true", was Nicole's initial reaction, "it's fantastic I really can't take it all in."

"I was expecting the bad weather because I'd been checking the long range weather forecasts so that was no surprise. I owe a lot to Emma (Pooley) and Sharon (Laws) because they did such a great job putting everybody under pressure and allowing me to ride my race."

"When the group got away I was just hoping that the other four in would work together, and I knew if we did I had a great chance, but you can't take anything for granted so I had to stay calm and work hard. When I crossed the line I really could hardly beleive it."

"It's the result of a lot of hard work over the years by so many people, not just me, so I'd like to thank them all and all my fans, I'm so glad to have repaid such great support."

3 days after winning Gold Nicole finished 15th in the Olympic Time Trial, where Great Britain team mate Emma Pooley won silver.

Immeadiately after the race, even before the Medal Ceremony, Nicole was thrown into an extensive round of media commitments which stretched into the following day.

3 days after winning Road Race Gold she lined up in the Individual Time Trial. Nicole was third last starter on the 23.5k course which used the same route as the Road Race finishing circuit up and down Badaling Mountain north of Beijing. In dry conditions she finished 15th, before collapsing exhausted over the line.

""It was a very hard course that required maximum effort throughout. My legs felt fine going in, but when I started I knew it wasn't going to be a great ride. I just tried to dig deep - the race is never over until it's over ."

The Time Trial was won by American Kristin Armstrong, with Great Britian's Emma Pooley taking silver.

"Emma worked so hard and is a very worthy medallist, it just shows what a strong cycling team we have.

"She was a very critical part of my gold medal on Sunday and it's absolutely brilliant Emma's got her own medal today."

June

For the 8th year in a row Nicole is British Champion. She won her 9th GB Road Race title outsprinting Emma Pooley after the two had broken away towards the end of the race in Yorkshire.

She won her first title in 1999 aged just 16, and has won the right to wear the British Champions jersey in every year since 2001.

Full details on the British Cycling website.

Nicole was on the podium of La Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale for the third year in a row. Nicole won the race in 2006 and 2007, and rode this year as part of a combined Swift Racing/Halford's Bikehut team. 

She had second placings on stages 2 and 3, and again on the 7th and final mountain stage to Sestriere. Despite making consistent attacks against two former team-mates Christiane Soeder and Karin Thürig, the Cervélo-Lifeforce duo had the strength in numbers to finish 1st and 2nd on General Classification with Nicole 3rd.

May

Nicole's first victory of the 2008 season came on stage 1 of the Tour de l'Aude in France.

With five kilometres to go she was in a group of chasers 30 seconds behind a break away group of four. Nicole bridged the gap to the group which contained teammate Sharons Laws, Judith Arndt, Trixxi Worrack and Susanne Ljunskog, and then took the sprint after a lead out by Laws.

Nicole finished 4th on GC with Ljunskog the overall winner.

Nicole finished 12th in the Magali Pache Time Trial as she continues her steady progression towards finding peak form this summer. An invitational event in Switzerland Nicole won the event in 2006 with a time of 30m 43s. Her time this year for the 20.4km course was 30m 16s.

April

Nicole finished 8th in La Fleche Wallone. She launched the initial attack at the foot of the fearsome Mur De Huy, splintering the field in the final 1km. Nicole was also very active on the preceding hills of a race she has won 3 times. Marianne Vos was the 2008 winner.

Nicole put in another strong late attack in the Ronde Van Vlaaderen World Cup race, this time to try and bridge from a chasing group to a 2 woman breakaway. Judith Arndt wasn't caught and won, but Nicole was swept up be the other chasers just before th line.

She finished 16th, 23 seconds in front of the main peloton.

March

Nicole finished in the chasing group of 22 behind Emma Pooley who won the Trofeo Alfreda Binda by over a minute. Pooley's victory gives her the lead in the World Cup series after 2 rounds.

Nicole launched a chasing group of 3 after her fellow Brit had built up a lead of over 2 minutes, but was then swallowed up by the rest of the chasers to finish 20th in her first race of the year.

February

Nicole is ready for the new season, her seventh as a professional. She has been training both around her home in Lugano Switzerland and in Northern Italy. Her full racing schedule is yet to be finalised but check out her schedule as it stands at the moment, with a first race at the end of March.

2008 is an Olympic year and she'll be riding for a new team organised by British Cycling and sponsored by Halfords under their Bikehut brand, and will ride bikes from the new Chris Boardman range.

Nicole will lead the squad which features 10 women riders, and is delighted to have the Best of British backing her in the run up to Beijing. .“It’s absolutely fantastic. This will be the first ever British professional women’s team and I believe it’s the biggest step forward in women’s sport in this country for many, many years.”

Full details of January's team launch are available at British Cycling.