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Infighting threatens Olympic hopes of Great Britain women’s cycling team

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Summary of story from Cycling Weekly, November 21, 2011

Friction between members of the Great Britain women’s cycling team may ruin the team’s chances of getting in the medals at the London 2012 Olympics.

Tension between two of Team GB’s best cyclists emerged during the World Championship race in Copenhagen. Lizzie Armitstead revealed problems with Nicole Cooke, saying that Cooke “didn’t do her job properly” and that was why the team didn’t  feature in the medals at Copenhagen.

“I’ve never seen her [Cooke] ride for a team mate,” Armitstead told Cycling Weekly. She added that she was glad she had spoken out, “because it’s been an unspoken situation for too long.”

If harmony cannot be reached ahead of London 2012, it is possible that Armitstead or Cooke could be benched to ensure the team is unified behind one leader.

Not taking reigning champion Cooke would be a highly controversial move, but British Cycling manager Simon Cope says Armitstead is currently the faster of the two.

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