CyclingNewsHound

Cyclist Chloe Hosking: ‘My career is facing its end, when I don’t feel I’m done’ | Kieran Pender

26-Jan-2023 14:00:24 | The Guardian

After her new team collapsed, one of Australia’s most successful cyclists will be forced to retire unless a contract arises in the coming weeks

Chloe Hosking is one of the most successful Australian road cyclists of all time. She has notched up over 40 wins in her career, including sprint victories on the iconic Champs-Élysées and at her home Commonwealth Games. But speaking to Guardian Australia at a coffee shop in Canberra, Hosking is in tears. They are tears of disappointment and tears of frustration.

In early December, Hosking’s professional team, French outfit B&B Hotels, collapsed. The 32-year-old was in Tenerife, Spain, training solo at altitude ahead of what she hoped to be a big 2023, when she was pulled into a Zoom call. “One of the moments that really stood out to me,” she says, “I was obviously very disappointed, and I was told to smile. I was like: ‘I don’t have a job, my 13-year career is over. Why should I smile?’”