Cooke doubling up in an effort to emulate Holmes

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Fresh from her epic 78-mile road race win in the shadow of the Great Wall of China, the 25-yearold Welsh wonder confirmed that she will now pedal for a second slice of glory in the space of just four days in Wednesday's 19-mile time trial.

And though emotionally and physically shattered after the culmination of 12 years slog on the roads, Cooke was certainly not ruling out her chances of making more sporting history after becoming the first British woman ever to win a cycling gold.

"It seems like I'm in good form so I'll be doing my best," Cooke (below) said today. "The time trial is on the same course as the road race, so my training for the road race should serve me well.

"It's another opportunity for a gold so I'll definitely be giving it my best shot."

If the woman from the small Vale of Glamorgan village Wick was to succeed, her achievement would match that of track star Dame Kelly Holmes, whose story of success in Athens bore a warming similarity to Cooke's experience here.

In Athens, Holmes had been largely overlooked for even one medal on the track after a glittering career that had featured so many near misses but went on to win not just the 800 metres, but, buoyed with exhilaration, also the 1500m later in the week.

During her own Greek Olympic odyssey, Cooke went on to finish 19th in the time trial after the crushing disappointment of finishing fifth in the road race - when she had set her heart on gold - and the question is whether she can now recover from the exertions of yesterday's marathon effort.

"I've taken my body to the absolute limits," she admitted.

But even if Cooke misses out on another medal, there's also an opportunity in the time trial for her fellow Briton Emma Pooley, which would be a reward for her selfless attack which ultimately paved the way for her teammate's victory.

Speaking of the role Pooley played in Cooke's victory, British team manager Julian Winn said: Winn said: "Nicole could watch and wait because the other riders know what

Emma can do on her own, so they were thinking, would she ride away or was she bluffing?"