Baden Cooke, Featured Pro-cyclist
Baden Cooke was born in Benalla, Victoria, Australia, and won his first bike race at the age of 11. He says that he knew he wanted to ride the Tour de France from that moment on. In 1995, he won a silver medal in the Australian Open Road Championships, and subsequently became a member of the Australian national team (under 23).
In 2000, he began his professional career with the Mercury Cycling Team. His victories with Mercury include three stages of the Herald Sun Tour in Australia, overall winner of the San Diego Criterium, and winner of the points classification in the Tour de l'Avenir.
In 2002, he moved permanently to France and joined Française des Jeux for three seasons. It was with this team that Cooke experienced the highlight of his career in 2003 when he won a stage in the Tour de France and the green jersey in a dramatic finish on the Champs Elysées. He currently rides for Belgian team Unibet.com.
Jimmy Casper, Featured Pro-cyclist
Born in Mont Didier, France, Jimmy Casper became a pro-cyclist at the relatively young age of 19. He made headlines in 1999 by winning several sprints in the Tour of Germany, leading the French media to demand his presence in the Tour de France later that year. Casper agreed with his Française des Jeux coach to ride only 10 stages of "La Grande Boucle,” and achieved notable results in early sprints.
An injury in 2000 caused him to miss an entire season, but in 2001, he won stages in the Tour de Sud, Tour de Poitou-Charente and Tour Méditerranéen, and finished the Tour de France for the first time (in the 144th position).
In 2002 and 2003, Casper was forced to abandon the Tour de France on stages 16 and 9 respectively due to injuries sustained in earlier crashes. In 2004, he switched teams to Cofidis, Crédit Par Telephone, and finished the race for the second time in his career. His dream of winning a stage in the Tour de France still eludes him.
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