Rally Cycling’s Chloe Hosking won the field sprint for fifth place at the Towards Zero Race Torquay on Thursday. The peloton was unable to bring back a group of four riders during the first UCI one-day race of the 2020 season, with eventual winner Brodie Chapman (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) staying clear by 26 seconds.
“I’m really proud of how the team raced today,” said Hosking. “I think that fifth place was the best possible result we could have achieved given the circumstances so we have to be happy with that.”
The peloton suffered under the Australian sun with temperatures cresting 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Despite the peloton passing through a feed zone on each of the eight circuits around Torquay, there was a steady stream of riders dropping back to the race caravan to grab bottles and ice from team cars.
“Today was brutally hot,” said Hosking. “It wouldn’t have been a proper trip to Australia if you didn’t have at least one stinking hot day. It felt like someone was pointing a hairdryer at your face. I think it had a huge impact on the race.”
Heidi Franz and Sara Poidevin were active early in the race while Leigh Ann Ganzar made sure the team was topped up on bottles and ice.
All of the early work and sacrifice allowed Krista Doebel-Hickok to play a vital role late in the race. Doebel-Hickok kept the pace high in the closing laps to prevent the breakaway from gaining additional time and followed moves on the climbs so that Hosking could conserve energy for the finish.
The team may have missed the podium at the end of the day but they have all the pieces in place for success.
“We’re punching above our weight with how we’re performing and that is something we can be really proud of,” added Hosking. “We did what we could to win today and we couldn’t finish it off but that’s bike racing. There are so many more positives out of today’s race than negatives.”
The team lines up for the first Women’s WorldTour event of 2020, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, on Saturday, February 1st.
Results
1 CHAPMAN Brodie FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope 2:52:48
2 HERFOSS Emily Roxsolt Attaquer 0:04
3 WILES Tayler Trek-Segafredo Women 0:06
4 STEPHENS Lauren Team TIBCO – SVB 0:11
5 HOSKING Chloe Rally Cycling Women 0:26
6 ROSEMAN-GANNON Ruby Korda Mentha Real Estate Australia ”
7 MULLENS Peta Roxsolt Attaquer ”
8 HENTTALA Lotta Trek-Segafredo Women ”
9 KIRCHMANN Leah Team Sunweb ”
10 SIERRA Arlenis Astana Women’s Team “
