Baden Cooke (born 12 October 1978) is an Australian retired professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2000 and 2013.

Early life

Born in Benalla, Victoria, Cooke began competitive cycling at 11. He completed secondary school at Galen College in Wangaratta, Victoria, and was an

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

scholarship holder.

Career

His professional career began with the Mercury team in 2000, though he found racing in Europe to be more challenging than initially expected. Nevertheless, he adapted. He was more successful during that debut season in Australia and America, where he won stages of the Herald Sun Tour and the Sea Otter Classic, respectively. Having moved to the French team Française des Jeux in 2002, Cooke competed in the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

that year, finishing third behind fellow Australians Stuart O'Grady and

Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along wi ...

. He also participated in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. In 2003 he won the Green jersey which is the

Points classification in the Tour de France The points classification () is a secondary competition in the Tour de France, which started in 1953. Points are given for high finishes in a stage and for winning intermediate sprints, and these are recorded in a points classification. It is con ...

by two points in a tight finish on Stage 20 on the Champs-Élysées with fellow Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen second and O'Grady seventh in the final points classification. In 2004 Cooke came 12th in the points classification. Cooke represented Australia in the road race at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

along with McEwen, Michael Rogers, O'Grady and Matt White. Cooke raced 2006 and 2007 for Unibet.com. He joined Barloworld for 2008 but in 2009 moved to Dutch cycling team Vacansoleil. Cooke announced on his website that he would ride for Team Saxo Bank in 2010 – he continued with that team in 2011, before moving to the new team for the 2012 season. After the 2013 season, Cooke retired. After retiring, Cooke announced that he was moving into rider management. In January 2014 he became the agent of former team-mate and winner of the

2013 Vuelta a España The 2013 Vuelta a España was the 68th edition of the race. Chris Horner won the 2013 Vuelta at the age of 41 on 15 September 2013, becoming the oldest ever Grand Tour winner. Horner beat his nearest challenger, Italian Vincenzo Nibali, by finis ...

Chris Horner. He subsequently also became agent for Michael Matthews,

Gert Steegmans Gert Steegmans (born 30 September 1980 in Hasselt) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI ProTeam . He was noted for a strong finishing sprint and could compete in the sprint with fellow Belgian cyclist, and ...

and Janez Brajkovič. He recently purchased a stake in Factor bikes and Black Inc wheels.

Television appearances

In 2021, Cooke competed on '' Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn''.

Career highlights

Major results

;1996 : 1st MaillotAustralia

National Junior Points Race Championships : 1st Bendigo Tour : 1st Criterium Bike SA Race ;2000 : 1st MaillotAustralia

National Madison Championships : 1st Prix de Bles d'Or : Rapport Tour ::1st Points classification ::1st Stage 7 :

Herald Sun Tour The Herald Sun Tour is an Australian professional bicycle race held in Melbourne and provincial Victoria, sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The first tour was held in October 1952 as a six-day event. It is now held annually ...

::1st Stages 2, 5 & 9 ::1st Criterium competition ;2001 :

Tour de l'Avenir Tour de l'Avenir ( en, Tour of the Future) is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independents ...

::1st Points classification ::1st Stages 6 & 10 : 1st Stage 4

Sea Otter Classic The Sea Otter Classic is a bicycling and outdoor sports festival and exposition held each spring since 1991 at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The four-day event is considered the world's largest cycling festival, ...

;2002 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stages 2 & 4 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Paris–Corrèze Paris–Corrèze was a road bicycle race held annually in France, usually between a department near Paris and the department of Corrèze. It was created by Laurent Fignon and Max Mamers. It was first held in 2001 and since 2005 it has been organi ...

::1st Stages 1 : 1st Dwars door Vlaanderen : 1st

Tro-Bro Léon Tro-Bro Léon ( en, Tour of Léon, french: Tour du Léon) is a professional cycle road race held in Finistère, Brittany. The event was first run in 1984 as an amateur race before becoming a professional race since 2000. The race was established ...

: 1st Stage 1

GP du Midi Libre The Grand Prix du Midi Libre (referred to as just Midi Libre) was a multiple-stage road cycling course in the south of France. The race, named after the newspaper that organized it, was first organized in 1949 and was an important preparation cou ...

: 1st Stage 8

Circuit des Mines The Circuit de Lorraine is a multi-stage road bicycle racing event held annually in Lorraine, France. Since 2005, it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competi ...

: 3rd

Road race,

: 3rd

GP Ouest France-Plouay The Bretagne Classic, also called Bretagne Classic Ouest–France, is an elite cycling classic held annually in late summer around the Breton village of Plouay in western France. The race was originally named Grand–Prix de Plouay and, from 19 ...

: 5th Paris–Brussels : 9th Road race,

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

;2003 : 1st Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen : 1st Grand Prix de Fourmies :

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 2 :

Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under (branded as the Santos Tour Down Under under a partnership arrangement) is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and features all 19 UCI WorldTe ...

::1st Stages 1 & 4 : 1st Stage 9

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...

: 1st Stage 3

Tour Méditerranéen Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...

: 2nd Dwars door Vlaanderen : 4th

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m, ...

: 7th

Paris–Bourges Paris–Bourges is a French road bicycle race. The race originally started in Paris and ran to the town of Bourges in the Région Centre. However, in recent year with the length of races shortened it has become impossible to link the two cities a ...

;2004 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Bay Classic Series The Bay Classic Series (currently running as the Lexus of Blackburn Bay Crits) is a road cycling race held annually in and around Port Phillip Bay in Victoria, Australia. The race consists of both a men's and a women's competition over three stage ...

: 1st

Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise Grand Prix Cycliste La Marseillaise, formerly known as the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in February around the city of Marseille, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event ...

::1st Stages 2, 3 & 5 :

::1st Stages 1 & 3 : 1st Stage 2 Three Days of De Panne : 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 6 ;2005 :

::1st Stages 4 & 5 : 1st Stage 1

Tour of Poland The Tour de Pologne (Polish: ''Wyścig Dookoła Polski'', English: ''Tour of Poland'', official abbreviation TdP,) is an annual, professional men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages ...

: 5th Dwars door Vlaanderen : 6th Gent–Wevelgem ;2006 : 1st

: 1st

Halle–Ingooigem Halle–Ingooigem is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June in West Flanders, Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competit ...

: 1st Stage 1

Course de la Paix The Peace Race (german: Friedensfahrt, cs, Závod míru, sk, Preteky mieru, russian: Велогонка Мира (), pl, Wyścig Pokoju , french: Course de la Paix, it, Corsa della Pace, ro, Cursa Păcii) was an annual multiple stage bicycl ...

: 1st Stage 5

Tour de Wallonie The Tour de Wallonie is a stage race cycling race on the UCI Europe Tour. It runs in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium in the end of July. Between 1974 and 1995 it was reserved to amateurs. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a ...

: 5th Overall

Tour of Denmark Danmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as Pos ...

: 6th

: 10th

E3 Prijs Vlaanderen E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 kil ...

;2007 : 1st Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen : 1st Stage 3

: 1st Stage 2

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a sta ...

: 4th Paris–Brussels : 6th

Omloop Het Volk Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day Road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Nort ...

: 8th Gent–Wevelgem ;2008 : 1st Stage 2 Clásica Internacional de Alcobendas y Villalba : 1st Stage 1

Geelong Bay Classic Series The Bay Classic Series (currently running as the Lexus of Blackburn Bay Crits) is a road cycling race held annually in and around Port Phillip Bay in Victoria, Australia. The race consists of both a men's and a women's competition over three stage ...

: 1st Stage 3

;2009 : 1st Stage 4

;2010 : 1st Stage 4

;2011 : 2nd

: 5th Dwars door Vlaanderen : 10th Gent–Wevelgem

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

*
Australian Cycling Federation profile
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Baden 1978 births Living people Australian male cyclists Australian Tour de France stage winners Tour de Suisse stage winners Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of Australia Cyclists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games People from Benalla Cyclists from Victoria (Australia) Australian Institute of Sport cyclists Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling Australian Survivor contestants