In her last competitive outing before the Olympics Nicole Cooke and her team mate Diana Ziliute took sixth place in the dual time trail Luk Challenge, in Bühl, Germany at the weekend.

van Moorsel and Melchers take first place – pic (C) Luk Challenge

In what many are taking as an form indicator for the Olympics, there were strong fields in both the men’s and women’s events and an accordingly large and enthusiastic crowd of spectators. The 82-kilometre men’s event was won by CSC’s Jens Voigt und Bobby Julich with Armstong and Hincapie having to settle for fourth place.

The women’s event meanwhile, the first of its kind to be held, a 41.1-kilometre saw Leontien van Moorsel und Miriam Melchers (right) from Team Farm Frites take first place over 32 seconds ahead of nearest rivals Judith Arndt und Petra Rossner of Team Nürnberger.

While the sixth-place finish wasn’t the most exciting one for Cooke in recent times, it’s a solid one to finish on before Athens, especially for a completely new event. One Britain’s brightest medal hopes for the Olympics, she has now returned to the UK for the final days of preparation.