Hosking adds one year to Ale Cipollini contract

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Chloe Hosking has extended her contract with Ale Cipollini for on more season, keeping her with the team until at least 2018. Hosking joined the team for this season, with a contract that allowed her to split her time between Australia and Europe.

Hosking's move was part of the Italian team's desire to become a more international squad. Hosking says that she has settled in well with her new squad and staying was a no-brainer.

"It was really easy to make the decision to re-sign," said Hosking in a team press release. "I've been really happy with the team this year: the girls, the staff, the equipment, the organisation. It's been a stress-free environment for me, and I could easily see myself here for another year.

"Last year I said that I was taking things year-by-year, and I'm sticking to that, but I'm not sticking with the Australia/Europe split," Hosking added. "I'm grateful the team allowed me the luxury of that arrangement. I needed that this year. I needed to be able to check out at times so I could focus when it mattered.

Hosking started her season in January at the Santos Women's Tour, where she notched up her first win of 2017 with victory ahead of Kirsten Wild on stage 3. She kicked off her European season at the end of February with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, finally scoring her first win on European soil at the Drentse Acht van Westerveld a few weeks later. A string of close calls followed before she was able to break through again with a stage win at the Women's Tour.

Hosking is keen to get more wins on the board in the next part of the season, with the Giro Rosa her next major target, but says that 2017 is about more than that.

"I've only had three wins this year, lots of podiums but only three wins. It's not terrible, but I definitely had bigger ambitions," said Hosking. "My highest win count in a season is six, so I'm halfway there, and there's still plenty of racing left.

"This season has been about more than results though," noted Hosking. "I came into the team with a leadership role that I've never had previously. My teammates look up to me, respect me. It's a new added pressure. I think I feel like what Ina [Teutenberg] must have felt like when she was mentoring me."

Hosking has been splitting her time between her native Australia and her European base in Girona. Next season, she and the team will look to bring her permanently to Europe for the duration of the racing calendar. Hosking hopes the decision will help bring her racing up another level.

"Going into next year, I want to try to take another step up in my career," Hosking continued. "The best way to do that is to be in Europe and race in Europe full-time. I guess I'll need to try to get my family and my partner over to Europe more to make that work for me."