A string of victories on the world-class circuit this year places Chloe Hosking at the top of the list of favourites set to compete in the women's road race at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar on October 15. The Australian says the course is a sprinter's dream that comes along very few times in the span of one's cycling career, and she is prepared to contest for the rainbow jersey.
"It was a no-brainer for me to focus on the World Championships in Qatar," Hosking told Cyclingnews in a phone interview. "Sprinters and pure sprinters don't get many opportunities at the World Championships. I think the last real sprint was in Copenhagen in 2011. When we get a sprinter-friendly course pop up, we have to go full steam ahead and really commit to it because it might be another five or six years by the time we get another one, and by that time my career will be well and truly over."
Hosking opened her season with a stage 4 victory at the Ladies Tour of Qatar in Doha, a result that secured her spot on Australia's long list for the World Championships. It eased the pressure that some of her rival sprinters may have had in trying to earn spots on their respective national teams throughout the season.
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"I qualified when I won my stage at the Tour of Qatar at the start of the year, and so in that respect, the pressure was off, and I had my name on the list for Worlds," Hosking said. "In reality, unless I had a really terrible season, I was always going to be selected for Worlds in Qatar. That was not a stressor for me. When I started picking up wins at the Giro and La Course, that cemented what my role would be on the team."
Hosking had strong performances during the Classics with top 10s at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Drentse Acht van Westerveld but then ramped up her season at the Tour of Chongming Island, the first stage race on the inaugural Women's WorldTour. She was third in the opening stage, won the second stage, and sealed the overall title after the third and final stage. Those results launched her up into the top 10 of the Women's WorldTour standings.
Her performances in China continued through the rest of the season with a stage 3 victory at the Giro Rosa and then the win on the Champs-Elysees at La Course by Le Tour de France, two more events on the Women's WorldTour. She finished the season with a stage win at La Route de France, second at Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta and a recent victory at Grand Premio Bruno Beghelli in what was her final race with Wiggle High5 before she makes the move to Alé Cipollini in 2017.
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