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Games debutant Armitstead is adamant the squabble is in the past, and the Hornby ambassador said: “Our problem was in Copenhagen, not about London. It’s behind us.

“It’s a totally different race and a totally different strategy that we’ll have. For me they’re separate things. I’m confident whoever’s selected, whatever team combination there is that we’ll work together.”

Cooke, who disputed Armitstead’s comments, insists she will ride for the benefit of the team.

The 29-year-old Welshwoman said: “I am honoured to be representing Team GB at the 2012 Olympic Games and doing everything I can to deliver a gold medal for our team.

“We have a set of riders with real potential and I am looking forward to playing my part in delivering that gold.”

WHAT ARE BRITISH CYCLING THINKING???

They’ve just announced the women’s team for the Olympic road races, and I suppose I should have guessed it would be a strange one, when they said they’d announce the women’s team before Nationals, and the men after, but here’s the 4 riders who’ll be competing in the Road Race:

Lizzie Armitstead, Lucy Martin and Emma Pooley (all AA Drink-Leontien.nl) and Nicole Cooke (Faren Honda) - Pooley and Armitstead will ride the ITT.

Those four riders are all super-strong, all great riders, and it’s going to be a world-class team, but there’s something that just doesn’t seem right - there’s no Sharon Laws!

Hi Peloton I just want to give you a quick update. I raced on Tues (Durango) and I felt really strong. Unfortunately, luck was against me as

— Nicole Cooke (@NicoleCooke2012) June 7, 2012

I broke a spoke going into the first real climb in the front group.By the time I got a wheel from neutral service I was way way back.

— Nicole Cooke (@NicoleCooke2012) June 7, 2012

I chased hard with a team mate and passed group after group to eventually finish between the 1st and 2nd groups. Got a great workout and

— Nicole Cooke (@NicoleCooke2012) June 7, 2012

felt great!!just need some luck! However well done to Emma!! Great ride from a great rider!! Xxx

— Nicole Cooke (@NicoleCooke2012) June 7, 2012

” We’ve seen a couple of stage races for the women so far - the “pre-season” Tour of New Zeland and the Redlands Bicycle Classic in the USA - but I’d argue EnergieWacht Tour is the start of the international stage racing season. Yes, there were key teams missing (Emma Johansson’s Hitec Products-Mistal Homes and Giorgia Bronzini’s Diadora-Pasta Zara) - but this gives us a great preview of what we’ve learned about how women’s stage racing will look this year - and newsflash - it’s going to be exciting! The four big teams - AA Drink-Leontien.nl, GreenEdge-AIS, Rabobank and Speclialized-lululemon - seem very evenly matched, and the question from the early Classics season, “Can anyone beat Marianne Vos?” has been answered!

EnergieWacht Tour is one of the most satisfying races to follow, with a fantastic race website and twitter, TV coverage from two different Dutch stations, and apparently fantastic wifi, for a plethora of rider blogs. I’ll tell you all about how the race unfolded - and with every stage, there are at least two kinds of video - the short RTV news videos embedded, and the links to the longer RTL XL pieces, with interviews in English after pretty much all the stages. I recommend them all! “

“I started racing before anyone had heard of a lottery grant,” added Cooke.

“So you could certainly say I am at a different starting point to a lot of riders today.

“How many years was I the only British rider in the peloton? At least five or six. And there was no career path to follow, not like academy riders have now.

“For me it was about loving racing and I wanted to see if I could get to the top.

“But there was not a road to get there and I had to find it myself.

“Having seen the coverage that Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins get now, it would be interesting if I had my Beijing year again now.

“But that is not why I got into cycling.”

And another Olympic gold could provide the perfect conclusion to her illustrious career.

“Everything is based around the Olympics,” Cooke told the Times.

“If the aim was to earn half a million I would have enrolled in a tennis academy aged seven.

“There are a lot of average tennis players out there earning that much.

“But double Olympic gold medal winner, that’s the dream.”