11 seasons. 33 professional wins. 100 podiums. What more is there to achieve in cycling for Australian Chloe Hosking? Rally UHC Cycling is about to find out.
In a bold move, one of the only all-North American professional cycling teams in the world is opening its doors to a rider from down under, signing 29-year-old sprinting sensation Chloe Hosking for the 2020 season.
“Rally UHC Cycling offers me a new environment filled with new challenges,” said Hosking. “After 11 seasons in Europe, I felt I needed a big change if I wanted to continue to enjoy and succeed in this sport. The team gives me the opportunity to achieve all of these things.”
Hosking is one of the sport’s premier sprinters, whose victories include WorldTour wins in La Course by Le Tour de France (2016) and stage two of the Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta (2019) as well as a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games Road Race (2018).
“I feel so fortunate to be able to do this for a living,” said Hosking. “My dad once said to me, “Chloe, you have the rest of your life to work in an office.” And it’s so true. I will only be young once and my body and my mind are allowing me to race my bike at the highest level in the world.”
After spending the last three seasons competing for the Italian Alé Cipollini team, Hosking will spend more time stateside than ever before in her career.
“I’m ready to challenge myself not just from a physical perspective but also a mental and social one,” said Hosking. “I will have an important role in developing some of the best North American talent and I’m looking forward to helping Rally UHC Cycling make that next step as a team.”
Team director Zach Bell was looking to complete the 2020 roster with a rider capable of leading his young squad in the world’s biggest events. With Hosking, he found the perfect combination of someone who was looking for a mentorship role and still capable of leading by example.
“As the program has grown, it became clear we needed someone knowledgeable who could guide the riders in Europe,” said Bell. “With Chloe, I believe we’ve found that person.”
There is more to success than a rider’s strength and determination, they must learn how to read a race and develop the bike handling skills to put themselves in the right position at the right time.
“With riders like Emma White and Megan Jastrab both on the cusp of becoming great, high-level sprinters, Chloe is someone who can really contribute the intangibles in their skill development,” added Bell.
Hosking is the third and final new signing for Rally UHC Cycling’s 2020 roster after the announcement of Leigh-Ann Ganzar and Lily Williams in early September.
Returning riders include three-time junior world champion Megan Jastrab, 2019 US crit champ Emma White, 2019 Redlands Bicycle Classic stage winner Krista Doebel-Hickok, 2017 Colorado Classic champion Sara Poidevin, 2017 Canadian road champ Allison Beveridge, 2019 Tour of the Gila stage winner Heidi Franz, and 2018 Canadian crit champ Sara Bergen.
The team will assemble for the first time in Minneapolis, MN for their official launch party on December 6. Riders then return home to prepare for camp in early January heading into the season opener in Australia.
2020 women’s roster
Sara Bergen
Allison Beveridge
Krista Doebel-Hickok
Chloe Hosking
Heidi Franz
Leigh Ann Ganzar
Megan Jastrab*
Sara Poidevin
Emma White
Lily Williams
*junior/development rider in 2020
