Cooke was hoping to repeat her Tour of Flanders win of 2007

Britain's Nicole Cooke finished fourth in the Tour of Flanders on Sunday after missing out in a sprint finish.

The 25-year-old Welsh rider, who won the Olympic title in Beijing last year, lost out to German Ina Yoko Teutenberg.

Cooke, who started her own Vision 1 Racing team this season, is preparing for this year's World Championships.

"I'm happy with that considering that my season is based on next September, but I'm a racer and always want to do my best," said 2007 winner Cooke.

606: DEBATE Your thoughts on the Tour of Flanders

"That's a solid result and I'm really happy with my own ride and how we rode as a team.

"With 6km to go I knew it would be a sprint and so hoped that after a hard race I'd be competitive with Teutenberg and the others. Unfortunately I wasn't."

Belgium's Stijn Devolder of the Quick Step team won the men's race ahead of Germany's Heinrich Haussler (Cervelo) and Belgian Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto).

The World Championships begin in September in Switzerland.

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