Nicole Cooke to head UK's first professional women's team

According to telegraph.co.uk, Nicole Cooke will lead an all-British professional women's team in 2008. 24-year old Cooke made the announcement in London this week and said the team's mission will be to compete on the professional circuit and prepare U.K. riders for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The former world champion said "This will be the first-ever British professional women's team, and it's the biggest step forward in the women's sport in this country since I don't know when."

The team, which may host as many as a dozen riders when staffed and is yet to announce a commercial sponsor, is being developed in conjunction with British Cycling and British Cycling's David Brailsford is named director of the team in the article.