Australian Chloe Hosking will step away from the Italian-based team Ale Cipollini and join Rally UHC Cycling in 2020. Hosking is one of the most decorated sprinters in the women's peloton and will add over a decade of experience to the American programme. The team announced a 10-rider roster that will also include newly crowned junior road world champion Megan Jastrab.
"Rally UHC Cycling offers me a new environment filled with new challenges," Hosking said in a team press release. "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 joined the professional ranks in 2010 with the Columbia women's team and stayed through the team's later versions as HTC-Highroad and Specialized-lululemon. She signed with Hitec Products and then Wiggle High5, for two seasons each, before moving to Ale Cipollini from 2017 to present.
Her career highlights include wins in La Course by Le Tour de France (2016) and stage 2 of the Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta (2019) as well as a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games Road Race (2018). In total, Hosking has secured 33 professional wins and 100 podiums in her 11 seasons of competition.
"I feel so fortunate to be able to do this for a living," Hosking said. "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.
"I'm ready to challenge myself not just from a physical perspective but also a mental and social one. 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."
Rally UHC announced the 10-rider team will also include Jastrab, Sara Bergen, Allison Beveridge, Krista Doebel-Hickok, Heidi Franz, Sara Poidevin, Emma White, and new signings Leigh Ann Ganzar and Lily Williams. Team director Zach Bell said that Hosking is more than capable of leading and mentoring the young squad in the world's biggest events.
"As the program has grown, it became clear we needed someone knowledgeable who could guide the riders in Europe," Bell said. "We want to be taken seriously as a contender on the world level and with Chloe, I believe we'll reach that goal."
Jastrab, who won the junior world title in Yorkshire last month, is a current member of the team. At 17 years old she isn't permitted to participate in women's elite UCI-sanctioned events, but she has experienced international success. This spring, she won Nations Cup events Trofeo da Moreno-Mini-Trofeo Alfredo Binda, U17 Gent-Wevelgem and first place at the junior Healthy Ageing Women's Tour in Great Britain. She also won double world titles in the Omnium and Madison and the 2019 UCI World Junior Track Championships.
Jastrab turns 18 in January and is looking forward to competing in higher-level events with Rally UHC during the 2020 season.
"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," Bell said
The team will assemble for the first time in Minneapolis 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 Rally UHC Cycling women's roster: Sara Bergen, Allison Beveridge, Krista Doebel-Hickok, Chloe Hosking, Heidi Franz, Leigh Ann Ganzar , Megan Jastrab, Sara Poidevin, Emma White and Lily Williams.
