Hosking hoping Cadel Evans Road Race win is a 'turning point'

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For Chloe Hosking, victory in the 2018 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race was a plan three months in the making, and came with the added bonus of Commonwealth Games selection.

The Alé Cipollini rider was an outsider for Saturday’s race, considering the addition of the Challambra climb. However, with specific training in the lead-up to the race that involved four-hour rides capped with "a ten-minute max effort", Hosking's preparation was on point and her sprint unbeatable.

With La Course by Le Tour de France, the Tour of Chongming Island, and a Commonwealth Games bronze medal from 2010 among the results on palmarès, Hosking is nevertheless hoping her win signals her progression to a new level of success.

"This is really high up there. It is one of my first races if not the only race I have really targeted and delivered," Hosking said after completing her podium duties.

"That is something I am criticised for all the time. I didn't deliver in Qatar, I didn't deliver in the Olympics. It is something I am trying to change and I hope that this is a real turning point for me."

Now into her second season with Alé Cipollini, Hosking was quick to point out that she did not arrive at the Geelong foreshore finish due to her efforts only, describing the behind-the-scenes work of her team and other individuals that contributed to her taking the glory - like a striker praising the playmaker for creating the goal-scoring opportunity.

"I don't know what the right word is but it is satisfying for my team and a step in the right direction," she said. "There are a lot more people who go into me getting over this course than just me. My coach has been super supportive, I have started working with a nutritionist and there are so many more elements behind the scenes that go into a win like this."

The win comes off the back of her final-day Santos Women's Tour victory earlier in the month and gave Alé Cipollini reason to celebrate after the early withdrawal of Roxane Knetemann from the race due to a heavy crash, Hosking sending her mum to "call all the hospitals in the area" to ensure the wellbeing of Knetemann.

With her first major goal, and bucket list item, of the New Year ticked off, Hosking isn’t resting on her laurels. The short term may be April's Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast – and she will reconnoitre the course after next week's Herald Sun Tour – but the bigger picture is the 2020 Olympic Games.

"It is not really about Comm games selection, it is about Tokyo 2020 selection," she said of her ambitions.

"There is all this change happening in Cycling Australia and it is all Olympic focused and for me, I have welcomed it. It has enabled me to step back and say what is my three-year plan and this is just the beginning of it."