Bouncing back after placing fourth yesterday, Chloe Hosking outfoxed the powerful Wiggle Honda and Orica AIS teams to win stage two of the Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic in Geelong.
The Roxsolt rider beat yesterday’s winner to the line, the three time world road race champion Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle Honda), with stage one runner-up Annette Edmondson (Orica-AIS) taking third. Gracie Elvin (Jayco National Team) and Tiffany Cromwell (Specialized Securitor) finished just off the peloton in fourth and fifth.
Hosking dedicated her win to her late brother in law, saying that he has given her special motivation.
“I am riding for my brother-in-law Lachie today so it is really special,” she explained. “He was diagnosed with a really rare form of cancer in 2006 when he was 19 and he had five years of remission but passed away in October this past year.”
She has a ‘Ride4Lachie’ sticker on her frame and said it is a constant reminder. “I have been getting on my bike and I see him there every day,” she stated.
Hosking felt she was out of position heading into the final corner, which was 400 metres from the line. This forced her to jump early and while she had to hold off those behind, she had the strength to do so. “We wanted to be really aggressive because yesterday Bronzini was just too fast for all of us,” she said.
“I was probably like fifteen back around that (last) corner, so too far back, but I just went really early and I think I caught everybody off guard. I was like no chance am I going to win this, but I held them off, I was really happy.”
Bronzini said that her sensations were good in yellow. “The lap was a little bit harder today, but it was more similar to a road race. I felt good during the race, and I think that the girls worked a lot better than yesterday because the feeling was really good between us,” she said.
While it didn’t pay off with a win, she said that they did a very good job and bad luck hampered her. “There wasn’t anything wrong, or a mistake today, but in the final when I tried to follow Nettie Edmondson at the finish I found myself in the middle of a little bunch. I had no space to come out when Chloe Hosking began her sprint.
“But I feel good, and I feel good about the team too, so tomorrow I feel sure that we can do everything well,” she added.
Her second place saw her retain yellow. She has 22 points, with Hosking on nineteen and Edmondson a further point behind.
Bronzini knows that the remaining two stages are tougher again, but she is ambitious about her chances. She wants to become the first non-Australian to win the overall title, and also to help her team-mate Peta Mullen in the Sprint Ace classification. She is currently third, one point behind the leader Lizzie Williams (Specialized Securitor) and level with Bronzini.
“I would like to keep this with me until the finish,” said the Italian. “We want to keep the jersey, but we also look forward to the green with Peta Mullens. So maybe we’ll work a little with her to get the points for the green, and we hope that it’s possible for her to keep the jersey for the finish.”
Mullens helped her chances in that regard when she won the first intermediate sprint and placed second in the next. “The race was pretty sedate until the first sprint,” she said. “Then Wiggle Honda got on the front and did an awesome lead out and I won the sprint and Lotte [team-mate Charlotte Becker – ed.] was second.
“Valentina Scandolara [Orica-AIS] and Tiff Cromwell [Specialized-Securitor] launched over the top of us and a pretty strong group of seven got away, with pretty much one person from every team represented, including myself for Wiggle Honda.
“That came back and there was a flurry of attacks for the rest of the race, but I got second in the second sprint,” Mullens added.
Tomorrow’s third stage of the race is regarded as the most difficult of the four days. It is a 1.3 kilometre circuit in Portarlington and should once again see Hosking, Bronzini, Edmondson and others go ahead to head.
Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic:
Elite Women:
1, Chloe Hosking (Roxsolt) 12
2, Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle Honda) 10
3, Annette Edmondson (Orica-AIS) 8
4, Gracie Elvin (Jayco National Team) 7
5, Tiffany Cromwell (Specialized Securitor) 6
General Classification:
1, Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle Honda) 22
2, Chloe Hosking (Roxsolt) 19
3, Annette Edmondson (Orica-AIS) 18
4, Tiffany Cromwell (Specialized Securitor) 14
5, Gracie Elvin (Jayco National Team) 13
6, Sophie Williamson (Vanderkitten) 8
7, Chloe McConville () 5
8, Kristy Glover (Bicycle Superstore) 5
9, Lizzie Williams (Specialized Securitor) 5
10, Loren Rowney (Specialized Securitor) 3
Sprint Ace Classification:
1, Lizzie Williams (Specialized Securitor) 6
2, Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle Honda) 5
3, Peta Mullens (Wiggle Honda) 5