Chloe signs with Wiggle Honda for 2015
Posted on October 27, 2014 2 Comments
Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling is delighted to announce that Chloe Hosking is the latest new athlete signing ahead of 2015, while Emilia Fahlin has renewed her contract for another year. Despite just being 25-years of age, Australian Hosking has been racing at the head of the women’s peloton for the past six years, and will be reunited with close friend and former teammate, former Swedish Champion Fahlin, in her new black and orange colours.
“I spoke with [Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling Managing Director] Rochelle Gilmore in 2012 when Wiggle Honda was just about to launch its first season and I was already impressed by what she had put together,” Hosking said. “Over the last two seasons I’ve watched Wiggle Honda become one of the biggest, most professional and strongest teams in the women’s peloton and to join an outfit like that is both exciting and motivating.
“I’ve raced with, against and for Rochelle since I entered the senior ranks in 2009 and to now race on her team is actually something really special,” Chloe added. “I’m very committed to helping grow women’s cycling, and to work alongside Rochelle to do this is really exciting because she really has done a lot to professionalise the sport which is something really important to me.
“For me, at this point in my career, the most important thing was being in a team environment that was professional and organised, and had some of the best equipment and support in the peloton. I know that Wiggle Honda can offer me all this and more.
“To have the opportunity to continue racing alongside Elisa Longo Borghini and Audrey Cordon is fantastic, and to be reunited with Emilia Fahlin who I had raced with for four years with Specialized Lululemon and Hitec Products is also awesome,” Hosking smiled. “They’re all good friends and to have the opportunity to race alongside them all for another year is something I’m really looking forward to.
“The opportunity to work with Egon who has so much experience at the elite level of our sport is pretty special,” Hosking concluded. “I have no doubt that I will be able to learn a lot from him and the other experienced riders in the team. With his experience and the team Rochelle has put together for 2015 I have no doubt that I’m joining a team capable of winning races on all sorts of terrain. I can’t wait to pull on the orange and black colours of Wiggle Honda at the Bay Crits in Australia in January.”
As one of the fastest, and most consistent finishers in the peloton, Chloe’s palmares is peppered with high quality victories in races including the Tour of Chongming Island – where she took the overall victory in 2009, aged just 18 – the Tour of Qatar and the Drentse 8 van Dwingeloo. 2010 also saw her take the Bronze Medal in the Commonwealth Games road race in Delhi, India, behind compatriot and new team manager Rochelle Gilmore.
Chloe’s 2014 season began with a stage victory at the Mitchelton Bay Crits, where she beat Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s Giorgia Bronzini and new teammate Nettie Edmondson. Prestigious results in Europe included the EPZ Omloop van Borsele and a stage of the Lotto-Belisol Belgium Tour.
“It’s difficult to recognise that Chloe is still so young,” Gilmore said. “Chloe did her trade as a domestique under the guidance of Ina Teutenberg four years ago at the age of 20 – not many athletes could dream of such an experience.
“Chloe is an athlete whose presence in a race, as part of a strong team can increase opportunities for our team in many different scenarios,” Gilmore added. “Chloe is one of three world class sprinters announced on Wiggle Honda for 2015 sofar, indicating that she may find herself back in, or on a dominant ‘High Road’ type sprint train. The signing of Chloe Hosking is like the icing on the cake for Wiggle Honda.”
26-year-old Emilia Fahlin is a former four-time Swedish National Champion, having won both the road race and time trial twice. More important than the results she takes for herself, however, is the support that she gives to her teammates, both on and off the bike, which has made Emilia such an important member of Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling.
“I’m really excited to be back in the black and orange kit next year!” she exclaimed. “I’ve really enjoyed this past season, we’ve shared some great success, and at the same time had plenty of fun – and the people around me have given me a great boost of motivation!
“I look forward to building on this for next year,” she added, “and I also think the team, with the new additions, will have an even bigger depth and will be up to challenge in all types of races.
“I’m extra happy having a couple of old teammates, and friends to be back racing together with!”
So much of Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s success in 2014 can be attributed to Emilia’s hard work. She was able to get herself into the break in the Open de Suède Vårgåda World Cup, her home World Cup race in Sweden, in August, much to the delight of her family and friends on the course, but even this was a selfless move that allowed her teammates to save themselves in the peloton behind.
“Emilia has been one of the most reliable domestiques in the women’s peloton and after years of working for others, she’s still famous for exactly that,” said Gilmore. “Our leaders depend on Emilia’s strength and fortunately, Emilia thrives on that type of pressure from the start of the season through until the end. It’s not easy to find an athlete who is so strong, so cycling savvy and so committed to others. Wiggle Honda are blessed to have such an easy-going talented athlete like Emilia fulfil this role on the team.”
With Chloe and Emilia, as well as yesterday’s announcement of Eileen Roe, there are now ten riders confirmed at Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling for 2015. They join Olympic Champion Dani King, Commonwealth Champion and Olympic medallist Nettie Edmondson, two-time Giro d’Italia winner Mara Abbott, Belgian Champion Jolien D’hoore, Italian time trial Champion Elisa Longo Borghini, Breton Champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot and our exciting young Manx talent, Anna Christian.
Chloe Hosking takes win in Halle-Buizingen
Posted on September 15, 2014 3 Comments
Chloe Hosking won the third stage in the Lotto-Belisol Belgium Tour. “I knew this place because I won a race here in 2012 so I had a good feeling before the start. My teammate said, Chloe, you’ll win today. And I did. It was a much needed win,” Hosking reacted.
The Australian rider beat Rabo-Liv’s Thalita de Jong and Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) in the sprint. Annemiek van Vleuten keeps the yellow jersey with one stage to go.
“It was awesome racing today,” Chloe said on the 102,7 kilometre race. “Technical course with steep climbs but mostly with technical descents. I love racing on these courses with those narrow roads. And the great thing that my parents saw me win today. My dad came over as a surprise this morning.”
Hosking is part of Hitec Products and praises the work of her Norway-based squad. “The team was great today. Ashleigh Moolman was strong on the climbs and our guest rider Demi de Jong kept attacking all the time. It was one of those textbook days. Everything went as planned.”
Tomorrow’s stage in Geraardsbergen will be the Australian’s last race of the season. “I didn’t make the World Championships team so my season ends tomorrow. I love the course in Geraardsbergen, have been in the break a few times before. I pulled out of Ardèche to ride here. Belgium’s been kind weather-wise so tomorrow will be a fun day again.”
See the original article here…
Lotto Belisol Belgium Tour: When the going gets tough
Posted on September 15, 2014 8 Comments
The last few months haven’t been a walk in the park for me.
It started with a disastrous ride at the Commonwealth Games.
Then the non-renewal of my contract with Hitec Products.
Then just when I thought I had found a contract, it was ripped away from me because of my performance at the Games.
On top of all this I had a lack of racing which made actually proving to potential teams that I deserved a contract somewhat difficult.
I could have reacted like a child when you give them a toy and then take it away, but as the saying goes, ‘when the going gets tough the tough get going‘. I put my head down and kept working hard.’
I worked on my sprint and then took myself to the hilliest and hardest stage race of the year, the Tour de Ardeche. Four days into the tour, after discussions with my coach I made the decision to finish two days early to make sure I was ready for what could have potentially been my last race ever; the Lotto Belisol Belgium Tour.
If ever I needed results it was now and I knew I was more likely to get them in Belgium than on the mountains of France.
As it turns out I made the right decision.
I won yesterday’s third stage of the Lotto Belisol Belgium Tour and I don’t think I’ve ever fought harder in a sprint. As the sprint kicked up on a 4 per cent incline and I was drag racing the Rabobank train for the stage win all I could think was how much I needed this victory. I guess my ‘fight or flight’ instincts are heavily tilted to the fight side of the scales.
As I crossed the line, in typical Chloe style, I clenched my fists and let out a huge scream. I probably scared a few small children and dogs. It was a scream of relief, excitement, disbelief. The first thing I said to my swanny as I rolled up to him gasping for air was, ‘I really needed that’.
Stars Aligning
While the past few months have seemed like a nightmare, yesterday’s stage was like a dream. It was like one of those races that come out of a cycling for dummies text book,’How to win a bike race’. If you haven’t heard about this book, I’ve been told it’s being released next year and is co-authored by Marianne Vos and Marcel Kittel. I pre-ordered mine on Amazon the other day.
It was like the stars were finally aligning. My first indication that it was going to be a good day should have come when I received a text message from my Dad who was meant to be in Slovenia fishing; ‘Hi Chloe. Looking forward to seeing you race today. Love Dad.’
What? I didn’t realise the race was televised?
As it turns out rain had ruined Dad’s fishing trip and he’d decided to jump on a plane to Belgium to join my Mum who was already following the race.
The second sign was when my roommate Julie Leth randomly declared to me that I was going to win as we were relaxing in out hotel room before we went to the start.
The third sign was when we finally figured out that I had won on this same parcours in 2012 when I raced the one day classic, Halle-Buizingen. Finally convinced, I said to my teammates when we discovered the similarities in courses, ‘Well okay then, I’m definitely going to win.’
The Race
9 laps of an 11 kilometre circuit the race was fast, and extremely technical. With two short, sharp power climbs spread around the course, an extremely technical last 3 kilometres, and typical Belgium roads (read bad) it was a circuit where if you weren’t at the front you were working twice as hard at the back.
Lining up with my Hitec Products team we had a pretty open race plan.
In the first road stage on Friday two Rabobank riders – race leader Annemiek van Vleuten and Anna van der Breggen – escaped alone and we had done the majority of the work to close the gap which had exploded out to over 2 minutes at some points. While we did save the race, we paid for it when we had no energy left to produce a result in the final.
Our instructions from our director were clear; we don’t chase, if there is a break of five or more there is a Hitec in there, but we don’t chase.
For the first lap I hung around in the middle of the peloton, surfing wheels and staying out of trouble. I wanted to get a feel of the course which was a little bit different to the circuit I had raced on in 2012.
The biggest shock came from the 3 kilometre to go mark to the 1.5 kilometre to go mark.
We flew down a narrow, pot hole ridden descent before we hit a short cobbled section. Still on cobbles we had to make a 90 degree left hand corner before a quick right hand turn onto a road barely wide enough for one car. Then another narrow 90 degree corner and a slight drag upwards to the second last corner of the race.
As we navigated the technical lead in to the line the first time all I could think was how crazy the finish would be. Then I started hoping a break would go away to diffuse the chaos.
While the race was aggressive and a number of breaks escaped at points (I even found myself in one with Emma Johansson and Thalita de Jong) the right combination never seemed to present itself. Sure, the peloton would splinter on the climbs when Anna van der Breggen would rip everyone else’s legs off as she went for the mountains sprints, but it seemed like nothing was really going away.
Coming into the final lap I was with my teammates Ashleigh Moolman and Julie Leth. We made it over the first climb on the circuit comfortably and started making our way closer to the front.
Just as we turned onto on of the narrow descents on the circuit our killer guest rider, Demi de Jong (Thalita’s younger sister) launched a fantastic attack putting us in prime position; that being in the lounge chair as our director would say.
As we turned onto the final climb of the day Ash and Julie were still perfectly positioned with me. I like having wheels to follow but I also like to surf trains and the girls were doing a fantastic job of just letting me do my thing but making sure they were there to help if I needed them.
With three kilometres to go Rabobank were assembling themselves on the front and Julie was in the perfect position tucked on to the back of their train. Riding up to her I said, ‘can you sweep my wheel?’ and she didn’t think twice, immediately she let me slot onto Annemiek’s wheel.
‘Do I swing with her or do I stay here at the front and hope Lucinda takes me to at least 200metres to go? ‘
We took the sweeping left hand corner onto the descent that resembled more a minefield than a road and braced ourselves for the shock of vibrations. I’ve never ridden a mechanical bull, but I imagine that descent is somewhat similar. Somehow I managed to out manoeuvre Annemiek and slot onto Marianne Vos’ wheel.
With 2 kilometres to go I was fourth wheel, tucked nicely onto the Rabobank lead out train. Normally I would have been a bit a nervous about being this far forward with still 2 kilometres to go but with the technical finish I had decided to roll the dice and gamble that too close to the front was better than too far back.
But as we made another sweeping left hand corner Vos looked behind her and obviously didn’t like what she saw. She swung out leaving Anna and Lucinda Brand a bike length in front of me. Do I swing with her or do I stay here at the front and hope Lucinda takes me to at least 200metres to go?
Letting go of Marianne Vos’ wheel is almost as hard as accepting that Santa isn’t real. If you’re lucky enough to have her wheel, usually you’ll fight tooth and nail to keep it.
People talk about life decisions; if you make one decision your life will take one path and if you make another decision it will go on a completely different tangent. That’s what this decision felt like. I chose to stay at the front and with Lucinda.
As it turns out, it was the right decision. Anna took the lead until about 800metres to go Lucinda took over.
With about 350metres to go there was a technical chicane in the road. Lucinda is one of the best bike handlers in the peloton so as she powered towards it full speed I just kept telling myself, ‘don’t touch the breaks, don’t touch the breaks.’ I couldn’t afford to give her even a metre advantage because I knew she would make the most of it.
With 250metres to the go the road tilted up with the gradient hitting about 4 per cent. Still tucked onto Lucinda’s wheel I could feel her speed slowing and I knew I couldn’t wait for much longer, but at the same time 250metres in an uphill sprint is a long way.
Waiting. Waiting. I could feel the peloton coming.
Just at the right moment I jumped out and grabbed Amy Pieters wheel as she came past. On my right Vos had Thalita tucked onto her wheel. With 150metres to go I saw Thalita launch to the right. I had to go.
Drag racing Thalita and Vos for the last 100 metres I could see our wheels nudging in front of each other as we each hit different phases of our pedal strokes. Throwing for the line I knew I had won, but only just. It doesn’t matter, I’ve always been a proponent of the theory ‘it doesn’t matter how much you win by just as long as you win’.
I saw my Dad not long after I crossed the line and buried my face in his travel beard which has gotten so out of control he often finds food in it. We were both pretty emotional because we knew this was so much more than just another victory.
For me personally, it was a reassurance of why I am doing this and why it’s worth suffering through the hard times. For my parents, they were just happy to see their little girl win. And for teams? Well hopefully it was a sign that I’ve still got it.
Mum congratulating me after the stage. (c) Sportfoto.nl
Lotto Belisol Tour: Belgium gets bike racing
Posted on September 11, 2014 1 Comment
The Lotto Belisol Belgium Tour kicked off today with a 7.8km ‘prologue’. I say ‘prologue’ because it was really a time trial labelled as a prologue; the longest a prologue can actually be is 8km so with the course falling just 200metres short I’ve decided I’m calling the organisers bluff.
The Tour is one of the last on the calendar before the world championships later this month and acts as some riders final preparations for the season highlight in Spain. For most those who weren’t selected to represent their countries it is the last race of the season and an opportunity to finish the long season on a high before they start their off season. Regardless of what category you fall into (I’m in the second) it’s a race where everyone wants to perform well.
This is my third time racing the tour and it s probably one of my favourite races of the year. What can you say, Belgium just gets bike racing.
With an extra day added to this year’s edition the race is now five days made up of a prologue (time trial), three road stages and a team time trial which are all raced around the famous cycling regions of Flanders and Wallonie.
I’ve always viewed time trials as a necessary evil; I only do them so I can do the road stages the following days. This hatred is partly motivated by the fact that every time I put a skin suit on a little part of my self confidence dies, but also because I’m not known for my time trialling abilities. However, despite all this I was pleasantly surprised to hear I finished 17th in today’s opening prologue.
After finishing the race I had decided to put it in the ‘I would rather never think about that again‘ category as I was almost certain that my grandma could have ridden faster than me. When I saw my sports director after the race I just looked at him and shook my head, “that was bad…”, was all I said. He was a little more positive, “you’re start was bad but the middle and end was good.”
Still not convinced I made no effort to find results or look for my time so when my teammate, Julie Leth came into the living area of our accommodation and told me I’d cracked a top 20 all I could say was, “you’re kidding?”
Annemiek van Vlueten won in an incredible time of 10.08 with an average speed of 46.3. Lauren Stephens finished second 26 seconds behind and Marianne Vos third 32 seconds behind.
But, given that it was a time trial there’s not really much you can write about tactics except, ‘I started fast, went faster and finished fastest.’ So instead, I thought I would share with you just exactly how I prepared for the opening stage of the Lotto Belisol Tour.
The Warm Up
Time trials are hard, but finding a warm up that works for you is even harder. Almost as hard as finding the perfect carrot cupcake with cream cheese icing; you’ll always have to try a few before you find a great one.
If you ask 10 people what they do to warm up for a time trial you will most likely get 10 different answers, but just like once you know a recipe you can add or take away a few ingredients until it’s just right.
I’ve tried more than a few time trial warms up; some given to me by directors, others given to me by coaches, but the best – and the one I continue to use – was given to me by Ina-Yoko Teutenberg in 2012 before the prologue at Thuringen Rundfahrt.
I still remember asking Ina if she would mind if I did the same warm up as her as we were driving in the team van to the race. After having raced with Ina for three years I had come to know that she wasn’t one who liked having a flock of girls behind her copying her every move. On more than a few occasions Ina said to me, “can’t you think for yourself?”, so I was slightly nervous when I did finally decide to ask her.
Luckily she didn’t seem to mind and was more than happy to help me out. I’ve since passed the warm up on to some of my teammates and they also swear by it.
Ina told me she and her brother, Lars Teutenberg – one of the most clued in guys in the cycling world when it comes to time trialling and currently works for Scott – had helped her hone the warm up over the past few years so while I might not be able to tell you all the scientific, physiological reasoning behind it you can rest assured that some of the best brains in the business are behind it.
So here it is:
1-8 min Threshold build: What this basically means is that for the first 8minutes of your warm up you gradually build up to your threshold power which you then hold for the last 2minutes. For me that means I gradually move through my power zones until I reach 280watts and then hold this for the last 2minutes of the 8minute build.
8-16min T 1/2: This just lets you get your heart rate back down after the threshold build. If you’re not sure what T1/2 is it’s the zone you would ride a longer ride in, like 4-6hours.
16-17min 30 second max sprint: This is just what it sounds like. For 30seconds you sprint as hard as you can. I try to stay above 500watts for the 30seconds.
16-20min Easy
20-21min 30 second max sprint: Same as above.
21-24min Easy
24-25min 1minute at 300watts with cadence 80-85rpm
25-28min Easy
28-31min 2minutes at T2 then 1 minute at 300watts free cadence
31-34min Easy
Finish 15minutes before your start.
Tomorrow’s 110km road stage will undoubtedly be aggressive. With Rabobank already stacking the general classification with three of their girls placed in the top five on GC it is on everyone else to try and shake it up.
Tour de l’Ardeche: Not laughing in the laughing bunch
Posted on September 5, 2014 Leave a Comment
Today we started up a 35km climb. The end.
I’m kidding, I wouldn’t do that to you. But it is a succinct way to describe my race today.
The 124km fifth stage of the Tour de l’Ardeche was yet another mountain stage and there was no easing into it. With three categorised climbs it was always going to be a ‘money in the bank’ sort of day rather than a ‘racing for the win’ sort of day for me.
I just didn’t think it would happen so quickly. Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one to find myself in the that situation, however. Astana/Be Pink clearly went into the race with the goal of decimating the peloton.
From kilometre zero the entire team were lined up on the front driving the pace for their team leader Alena Amialiusik. In yesterday’s stage Alena was distanced on the descent by race leader Villumsen and nine others, so I can only assume the teams tactic was to try and form as select a group as possible by the top of the 35km climb.
They definitely went some way to achieving their aim. By the top of the first climb only 12 riders were still at the front of the race with the rest of the peloton scrambling behind them.
For me there were no tactics today. No conserving energy. No playing with the convoy. I was in full gas survival mode.
As Astana kept pushing the pace my heart rate kept creeping higher and higher until I could feel the lactic acid pulsing through my legs. I kept glancing to the front and praying that they would blow themselves up and the pace would ease but it didn’t happen. I think there might still be a small mushroom cloud at around the 20km mark where I exploded and rapidly went backwards.
As the convoy passed me I asked the Danish team mechanic if there was a group behind me. Unlike yesterday, I wasn’t so confident that other riders had been dropped before me, but he reassured me there was. Still I rode the next 13kms uphill alone.
As I passed my parents who were 4kms from the top of the climb I shook my head. ‘What am I doing here?’ was all I was thinking.
Fortunately the Danish mechanic hadn’t been lying and I did find a group of 20 or so riders to suffer with for the remaining 90kms.
I’ll never really know why they call this group of dropped riders the ‘laughing bunch’ because in reality there is rarely any laughter. Most of the time we choose to suffer together in silence, occasionally yelling ‘piano’ aggressively if someone decides to push the pace even slightly.
While we were suffering at the back of the bike race, there were plenty of other riders suffering at the front (they were just going faster).
Only eight riders rode to the finish together with Alena claiming the stage honours. Villumsen remains in the race lead and my amazing teammate, Tayler Wiles, who is pretty much riding alone as my Dad kindly pointed out today is still in second overall! There were huge time gaps between groups, with Lizzie Williams who had been sitting in third overall before today’s stage more than eight minutes down.
After the stage Tayler told me that Alena had the race of her life. At some points in the race she was dropped by more than a minute because she simply couldn’t stay with the front riders on the long, technical descents that this race is famous for. Still every climb she clawed her way back to the lead group. That’s determination.
While I thought today’s stage was long – I stopped my watch at four hours and ten minutes – tomorrow’s stage is only going to be longer. The 140km queen stage will undoubtedly be another hard training day for me.
On that note, I’m going to bed. I need as much recovery as I can get.
Tour de l’Ardeche: Uncategorised climbing.
Posted on September 4, 2014 Leave a Comment
I haven’t made any secret of the fact that I came to the Tour de l’Ardeche primarily for training. The first two days were pleasant surprises but I knew it was too good to be true and – just like when you find a super cheap air-fair only to be slapped in the face with taxes, baggage charges, and any other thing these airlines are decided to charge us for these days – it really was.
Today’s fourth stage was like the hidden taxes. It was the slap in the face to bring me back to reality. The 110km race was one that you glance at in the race bible before quickly flipping to the next page. Denial, after all, is always better than facing reality.
The stage started directly up hill and continued climbing for the next 20km. But that wasn’t even a categorised climb; those came 45km, 77km and 105km into the race.
I had managed to position myself close to the front as we turned onto the first (uncategorised) climb of the day only 2km after we rolled away from the start line.
As a sprinter you learn pretty quickly different tricks that help you survive on tough mountain days like today. Starting at the front so you can gradually drop back through the peloton is a trick I mastered early on in my cycling career and was taught to me by my father, who also had the same genetic disposition to hills. That being he went backwards faster than he went forwards.
Today I wanted to try another trick that after six years of racing in Europe I’m still trying to master; the trick of conserving energy by getting dropped but not dropped enough to mean that you’ll never see the main bunch again. Trust me, I’ve done the ground work, it’s not an easy skill to master.
After racing the Giro Rosa this year I found that as the race went on my climbing got progressively worse, which is natural in any long stage race, but I made the assessment that there shouldn’t have been such a rapid decline in my climbing. In hindsight, I decided that I had pushed too hard on days where I didn’t necessarily have to.
One example I can think of off the top of my head was the third stage which finished up a 10km climb. The race went on to splinter and while I found a group which I was comfortable sitting I did need to grit my teeth a little to stay there.
Later, when I looked at the results from that stage I saw riders like Bronizini and Iris Slappendal had finished more than a minute behind me even though we started the climb together. Far from being worse climbers than me it shows the experience these riders have when it comes to stage racing. By saving their legs and energy on that third stage, they most likely had that much more to draw on in the coming stages.
So today, knowing that it wasn’t a day for me I made the decision to try something a little different. I sat in the peloton up the first climb for the first 5 or so kms feling comfortable but as soon as my heart rate started to climb to inappropriate levels and I started to grind the gear rather than spin I decided to start drifting back through the pack. I knew a lot of girls had already been dropped so I would have a group to ride with.
Finding a smaller group we rode tempo to the top of the first climb. The main pack was still in sieght and the convoy still behind us, both good things. I couldn’t believe how well this was working out. As we hit the first descent of the day we easily rejoined the leading pack.
It was at the second climb of the day that my energy saving tactics really started to show.
As Rosella Ratto launched an attack up another tough, uncategorised climb and was chased by Tiff Cromwell the peloton started to splinter and girls who had pushed themselves to stay with the front group on the first climb were dropping past me.
I was able to sit with the lead group up the next climb as well and was even at the front of the race when it all started to go down. And just like yesterday, it wasn’t the climbs, but the descents that caused havoc.
About 30kms into the race after we crested yet another uncategorised climb Wiggle Honda went straight to front and attacked the descent. Before I even realised what had happened the field had been totally decimated. A group of 10 or so which included race leader Linda Villumsen, Bronzini and Emilia Fahlin all from Wiggle Honda, Tiff Cromwell and Carly Taylor from the Aussie national team and a scattering of other riders managed to establish a gap on the chasing group.
Unfortunately, that’s about all the first hand recounting I can give you. As we reached the first categorised climb of the day I called it lights out, found a good sized group to ride home with and spun my legs to the finish. Or almost to the finish.
With about 20km to go I ran out of food and the horrible symptoms of hunger flatting started to kick in; first came the loss in power, then the loss in concentration (on the final descent of the day I over shot three corners) and finally the horrible dizzy sensation.
I haven’t had a chance to see the results form today’s stage but if you have, have a look for my name and then look for the group of about 10 or 15 riders that finished in front of me. The time gap between us I managed to establish in less than 8kms. Hunger flatting is a serious thing people! Eating is definitely not cheating when it comes to 110km mountain stages.
A group of 10 rode to the line to contest the stage honours with Bronizini putting in an incredible ride to win her second stage ahead of Tiff Cromwell. My teammate, Tayler Wiles, was also in the select group of 10 and has moved up into second overall!
I asked our director, Christophe, today if we’re the best mixed team he’s directed so far. He just laughed in an awkward way. I feel like it was kind of like asking him to pick a favourite child; everyone has one but you’re not meant to tell anyone. But I’d be willing to bet we are.
Tour de l’Ardeche: Suicide Attacks
Posted on September 3, 2014 2 Comments
I’ll admit I didn’t have high hopes of actually enjoying the Tour de l’Ardeche. For me it seemed like the lesser of two evils; stay home and train alone or suffer with the masses. When it comes to training and the end of the season three is never a crowd, so the opportunity to race a hilly six day tour offered a great training alternative.
But the last two day’s have proved to be more than just gruelling training rides.
Today kicked off with a 6.8km time trial from Valvignieres to Alba la Romaine and wasn’t high on my priority list. With no time trial bike, time trial helmet or even a skin suit I was already at a distinct disadvantage. Not to mention the fact that I didn’t actually know when my starting time was.
A mix up in race numbers yesterday left the organisation – and everyone else – believing that my teammate Tayler Wiles had finished third in the first stage and I had finished in Tayler’s place. Convinced that this would be rectified by the start of the time trial Tayler and I simply swapped start times…
As it turns out we made the wrong assumption.
Fifty minutes before Tyler’s start time out director told us that we actually had to stick to the original start times. I kitted up and jumped on my bike faster than George Clooney changes girlfriends. Needless to say when I rolled down the start ramp I was a little under done.
Linda Villumsen put in a great ride to take the second stage win for Wiggle Honda, while Alena (Be Pink/Astana) finished second and Tayler finished third (maybe the organisers just knew something we all didn’t!). Rachel Neylan, riding for the Aussie national team, put in a great performance to finish 4th. I finished 62nd which I actually think isn’t terrible given my lack of equipment and questionable preparation.
While I would have been happy to pack up and head back to the pool for the rest of the day we still had a 70km road stage in the afternoon to come, and the profile definitely didn’t lend itself to a nice leisurely afternoon cruise.
With three GPM mountain sprints (one category 1, one category 2, and one category 3) and three Rush sprints there was never any doubt that it would be a hard stage. For me, I thought it would be my first visit to the laughing bunch for the week.
However, it seemed like others had a bit of a different idea. Our team director, Christophe who has ridden the Tour de France three times and is local in the Ardeche region, called us all together an laid the map out in front of us.
“You follow this road, with tail wind, for 8km before you turn right onto a very, very small road. From there it’s important to be in the front…”
He went through the entire parcours giving us little tips and hints before turning to me and saying, “I think you can get over them.” Well okay, if you say so!
The first climb of the day came 15km into the race and was a 2.5km steep pinch on tiny roads. There was one place you wanted to be and that was the front. Fortunately that’s where I had positioned myself and I was able to suffer over the climb with the front group. But it wasn’t the climb that ended up doing the real damage, it was the fast, technical descent that came immediately after.
I often shake my head when I watch things like downhill mountain biking. I can’t comprehend how these guys have the guts to throw themselves down a mountain like they do. But when you actually pause to think, what we do is ten times more stupid.
While they have body armour, full face helmets and have ridden the course multiple times before they race, we have skimpy little lycra outfits, tiny tyres, light as feather helmets and generally have never seen the descent before in our lives. Still we kamikaze down them with little thought.
By the time the terrain flattened out the peloton had split into even more groups than it had on the climb. But there was still the only category 1 climb of the day to come and the prospect of that seemed to settle the peloton somewhat.
The category 1 climb wasn’t steep, it averaged about 6 percent, but it was long. Dragging out for a bout 6km it came 30km into the 70km stage and it was clearly where the teams with the strongest climbers had decided to try and set the race on fire.
Rosella Ratto from Faren Mexico launched one attack, and then another, and then another before the peloton finally shattered into pieces. I had managed to hang on until about 1km to go so went in to ‘limiting my loses’ mode.
Finding a rhythm I managed to latch onto a group in front of me and as we reached the the second, and highest ranked, GPM mountain sprint of the day.
Having spent a lot of time dropped on climbs I know it’s a good sign when the convoy hasn’t yet passed you, which they hadn’t, so I didn’t panic. After a short chase we rejoined the lead peloton and I went straight to the front.
Christophe had told us that from the second climb onwards the roads were extremely narrow and he wasn’t wrong. Pretty much from kilometre 40 to 60 you couldn’t ride more than three across. I’ve never really been one to take in the scenery when I’m racing but today it was hard not to, the roads were breathtakingly beautiful.
Amazingly I found myself still in contention for the stage win with 10km to go so I immediately started searching for wheels. I was jumping between Tiff Cromwell’s, Elena Cecchini’s and Bronzini’s. Trying to find the most protected ride to the line.
With a downhill run into the finish the last 5km were so fast. So fast that I didn’t dare look down to check the speed. As the kilometres started counting down, 4km to go, 3km to go, I found myself alone, surrounded by teams and lead out trains.
Wiggle were controlling the front with the Australian National Team and Optum trying to take over. With just under 2km to go and a sharp left hand corner approaching I said myself; ‘you know what stuff this, I’m gunna try something different.’
And the next thing I know I’ve launched myself past the Wiggle train and into the corner full gas.
Glancing behind me I saw that I had a small gap on the field but glancing infront of me the right hand corner with 300ms to go seemed so far away. I kept pushing but Tiff was driving it on the front. With less than a km to go I swung to the side thinking; ‘maybe I can still sprint’.
Boom. Loren Rowny launched herself on the right hand side of the road and she was gone. Sweeping through the right hand corner and then the final left hand bend Loren held off Bronzini and Tiff who finished in second and third. I finished 5th or 6th.
In the end my suicide attack with a little less than 2km to go essentially acted as a giant lead out for the entire peloton; not my brightest plan. But it’s in races like this, when you’re racing on a mixed team, that you an afford to try something a little bit different. Today it didn’t work out but it’s better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all.
Tour de l’Ardeche; The Big Guns
Posted on September 2, 2014 1 Comment
It’s a strange time of year. Teams are starting to think about the world team time trial championships in three weeks or looking even further ahead to the 2015 season. Consequently a lot of riders find themselves sans races. I was one of those riders.
Since competing in the Commonwealth Games a month ago I’ve had one race; the last round of the UCI World Cup, GP Plouay, which I raced on Saturday.
The three week break in racing after the Games was needed both mentally and physically and afforded me the opportunity to rebuild for the second part of the season, but after awhile your legs start to get itchy.
I was happy with my ride in Plouay – I was the main aggressor in the beginning stages of the race – but I love racing my bike and I wasn’t content to just sit around and wait for the next race my team had put on my race calendar, the Lotto Belisol Tour which starts on September 11. If I had done so I would have had a grand total of six race days between August and October. So instead I went searching for guest rides.
I sent email after email to the Australian national team asking for starts in Route de France, Trophee d’Or and Tour de l’Ardeche, most of which went ignored. But I’ve never been one to put up with the silent treatment. So I started emailing race directors, my own team director, and my teammates asking if they could help me get a guest ride.
Two weeks ago I got a message from my French teammate Audrey Cordon; “I got you a ride in Ardeche!”
I have never been more excited to discover that I had landed a guest ride in one of the hilliest tours on the calendar.
Last year, when I was racing at the Holland Ladies Tour I received a message from Lauren Kitchen who was racing Ardeche with her Wiggle Honda team. The message was simple; “Never do this race.” She told me later that on some days the peloton climbed more than 3000 altitude metres and most stages started on climbs.
After hearing that I had got the call up for the race I got straight on the race website to see just exactly what I was getting myself into. Lots of climbing, that what I was getting myself into. It didn’t matter, I was just happy to be racing.
The Big Guns
I was grateful to be given a guest ride by the organisation who had decided to put together a composite team made up of other riders also looking for late season rides. But I also knew I would need some support over the six day, seven stage tour. So naturally I called in the big guns; Mum and Dad.
My parents have been in Europe since the Giro Rosa and had planned to watch me race at the Holland Ladies Tour which is also on this week, but when my plans changed so did theirs.
When times are tough in the Hosking clan we have always come together as a unit. So when my parents knew I was struggling to find rides they were more than happy to be my support crew when I actually found one.
They agreed to hire a car and transport not just me but also Emilia Fahlin and Emily Collins the six hour, 300km drive, to the Ardeche region of France for the start of the race. But their responsibilities as support staff didn’t stop there; by the end of the evening last night they had turned into taxi drivers and feeders for the first stage. After the stage they also turned their French Gite into a laundry sweat shop.
Let the Race Begin
Being lead into a small bungalow by one of the race organisers I was told that my mixed team was having a meeting. With little information other than the address of where we were staying I walked into the meeting and said jokingly, “so who speaks English?”
Sitting in front of me was Joanne Hogan (Bigla), Tayler Wiles (Specialized Lululemon), Olivia Dillion (Colivita) and our token Frenchie, Betty; it was a huge relief to know that the majority of our team spoke English as my French language skills are poor to terrible. Even our director, who has done theTour de France three or four times, had a good handle on it! Bonus.
“…I have to say, my little mixed team rocked it…”
The first stage of the tour was a relatively flat 104km course made up of six local laps around the city of La Voulte before moving to Beauchastel to take in seven 10km laps.
Jo called the team together before the race and gave a bit of a debrief on the course and where sprints were before asking me what I wanted; she thought the race would come down to a sprint and wanted my opinion.
I wasn’t sure what the girls wanted to do or if they had their own ambitions for the race but I was humbled to hear that they were all happy to help me in the sprint. In the end, we decided to try to be aggressive throughout the race and I would surf wheels in the finish.
And I have to say, my little mixed team rocked it.
As we started the first town circuits Jo launched an attack up a small, sharp climb and established a gap on the peloton but nothing was gaining too much advantage with intermediate sprints scattered throughout the race. Even Taylor and Oliva launched some great attacks with Oliva earning herself the most aggressive jersey at the end of the stage after going for a 15km solo breakaway mid way through the race.
In the end, the peloton seemed happy to let it come down to mass bunch sprint however, so I started looking for wheels. And one in particular; Wiggle Honda’s Italian super sprinter Giorgia Bronzini.
Latching onto Bronzini’s wheel with a little over 4km to go I was feeling pretty confident. Other than having a small dig earlier to see if things might split in the wind I had managed to stay relatively sheltered and spin the legs for the majority of the race.
Wiggle Honda had a fantastic lead out train going keeping the pace high but other teams weren’t content to just let them ride single file to the line. The Australian national team started to creeping up on the right hand side with just over 2km to go while the pink team of Faren de Mexico were also trying to take control.
From 1km to go I was riding totally blind. Having never done the race before and with the peloton not riding through the finish before we actually contested the sprint I had no idea what was coming. I’d managed to overhear some conversation between teams so knew that the last corner came with about 850metres go but I didn’t know anymore than that.
As the elbows started to come out I lost Bronzini’s wheel and had a moment of panic but as we swept through the last right hand corner of the day I managed to sneak underneath and grab her wheel again.
Tiffany Cromwell (riding for the Aussie national team) had taken control of the peloton with Lizzie Williams on her wheel, the Bronzini and I lined out behind them.
As we rocketed towards the finish line a small kick in the road proved too hard for Lizzie and she dropped Tiff’s wheel leaving Bronzini and I with quite a gap to close. There was still more than 350metres to go and in a split second you’re faced with the question of ‘do I?’ or ‘don’t I?’.
Waiting, waiting.
Bronzini decided she’d waited long enough and exploded up the road to chasing Tiff. I followed. In the end though the gap was just a little too big for me to close. I finished third behind Bronzini and Tiff. There was millimetres difference between Tiff and I.
In an ironic twist I ended up wearing the mountains jersey for tomorrows second stage. It’s the first time I’ve donned a climbers leading jersey since the U17 Canberra Junior and Women’s Tour.
Irony aside, it felt good to be back in the thick of the sprints and back at the front of the bike race. After my disastrous Commonwealth Games having two good races back to back help to reassure me that I’m not actually terrible and I really did just have a (because I don’t want to sugar coat it) shit day.
Tomorrow we’re being treated to a 6.8km time trial and an afternoon mountain stage; I don’t know what I did to be so lucky! But I’m here doing what I love to do, race my bike, so I can’t complain!
#FlashBackFriday: The Giro Rosa in Photos
Posted on August 22, 2014 Leave a Comment
While this isn’t an old blog I’m reposting for your reading pleasure I am flashing back to last month’s Giro Rosa.
The 25th edition of the Giro Rosa covered more than 900kms and started with a night-time prologue in the southern town of Caserta before nine road stages. From southern Italy the race made its way north from Campania through Lazio, Abruzzo, Marche, Emilia Romagna, Veneto, Lombardy and Piedmont, before returning to Lombardy for the final stage.
It was a tour dominated by RaboLiv who finished first, second and third on the general classification but the results don’t the full story. Fast, aggressive racing each day provided a fantastic showcase of women’s cycling in amazing countryside. In this photo blog I’ll take you inside this years Giro Rosa with some of the best cycling photos I’ve seen in a long time thanks to Wei Yuet Wong. Hope you enjoy!
My teammate Elisa Longo Borghini wore the Italian National Time Trial Champion skin suit for the first time after claiming the title just weeks before. © Wei Yuet Wong
The opening prologue of the Giro Rosa started at 8.30 in the evening. With over 150 riders the last rider didn’t roll down the start ramp until after 10pm. You can read my blog here about the 2km race against the clock.
“1km out and 1km back the course was run through the centre of downtown Caserta and on truly horrible roads; the pavé was like Belgian cobbles that had been given growth hormones. Large and lumpy you were thrown from one side to the other and finding a rhythm and maintaining a high power was not easy…”
The first road stage of the Giro Rosa was held around the city of Santa Maria a Vico on a tough circuit. © Wei Yuet Wong
The first stage was meant to be one for the sprinters, but one look at the profile and I knew better. The race went on to shatter and the general classification changed very little over the next eight stages. My teammates Ashleigh Moolman, Elisa Longo Borghini and Audrey Cordon lit the race on fire with attacks and counter attacks. Elisa finished second behind Marianne Vos. You can read my report here.
Audrey Cordon said after stage one, “what was I thinking? I raced that like a one day race!” She had a fantastic first ever Giro Rosa. © Wei Yuet Wong
Stage two was one for the sprinters. But bad luck had me and my team miss out on contesting the bunch sprint won by Giorgia Bronzini. © Wei Yuet Wong
The second road stage of the Giro Rosa was one of missed opportunities for myself and my Hitec Products team.
“Crash.
A huge crash, right at the front of the peloton. Like dominos girls just started piling on-top of each other.
Shit…”
Stage three saw the first mountain top finish of the Giro Rosa, won by Annemiek van Vlueten. © Wei Yuet Wong
The third stage finished in the beautiful town of San Donato Val di Comino, Annemiek van Vlueten won after making the early break and out smarting her breakaway companions to stay away. Here’s my round up of the stage.
Team meetings, tactics, plans. Life on tour. © Wei Yuet Wong
We wanted crosswinds but they didn’t come, the fourth stage raced along Adriatica coast before turning inland to finish in the town of Jesi. Here our team director, Marc Bracke, talks about wind direction. Vos went on to win her second stage. Stage recap here.
“In the end the however, the predicted crosswinds were a no show like Wiggo at the Tour this year…”
Crashing is part of bike racing. Nursing injuries through tours is part of the job. Julie Leth crashed hard on the first road stage of the Giro (along with half of the peloton). © Wei Yuet Wong
Stage five was really the last chance for the sprinters and they made the most of it. The stage finished in a mass bunch sprint in the finishing town of Cesenatico. Vos won her third stage. You can read my blog about the tactics of the race here.
Everyday our director would write the crucial points of the race on our top tubes. © Wei Yuet Wong
Stage six was about the climbs. Here you can see three climbs at 32, 59 and 84kms. When you don’t have the luxury of knowing the parcours little ‘information sheets’ become your lifeline. Read more about the stage here.
Stage seven started directly uphill, so a warm up was in order. © Wei Yuet Wong
You know when pros warm up things are getting serious. Stage seven of the Giro Rosa started directly uphill and while the climb did shatter the peloton the relatively flat last 60km of the stage meant a larger group rode to the line. You can read about my less than enjoyable day on the bicycle here. I labelled the stage my worst day of the 2014 Giro Rosa.
Stage eight of the Giro Rosa rode through my teammate Elisa Longo Borghini’s home town. She had her family out to support her. © Wei Yuet Wong
My Hitec Products team celebrated two birthdays during the Giro Rosa. Here we sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Emilie Moberg. © Wei Yuet Wong
Fatigue had set in for most riders after stage eight, the queen stage of the Giro Rosa. © Wei Yuet Wong
Elisa’s fan club, the Zampine, brought a fantastic vibe to the gruelling eighth stage. Their road art helped me up the final 13km climb. © Wei Yuet Wong
Stage eight. Second last day and the Queen stage of the Giro Rosa.
On the final stage of the Giro Rosa Elisa finished 5th. She finished 5th overall as well. © Wei Yuet Wong
The glamorous side of women’s professional cycling. © Wei Yuet Wong
Julie celebrates her birthday with her Hitec Products family at the 2014 Giro Rosa. (c) Wei Yuet Wong
Nobody got the memo on the final stage that we were meant to ‘piano’ to the finish. It was a fast and aggressive race, just like the entire Giro Rosa. You can read my report here.
The whole Giro was a fantastic showcase of women’s cycling, captured brilliantly by Wei Yuet Wong.
Guest Blog by Julie Leth: 10 reasons why you should ride.
Posted on August 15, 2014 3 Comments
I’ve been sitting on this guest blog for a while and thought before the next block of racing begins in Scandinavia later tonight it was the perfect time to share. With the first ever Women’s Tour of Halden literally hours away and the Women’s World Cup Vårgårda, Scandinavia’s only world cup event, being raced next weekend it seemed like the perfect time to share my Danish teammate Julie Leth’s guest blog.
I first met Julie in June last year. Karl Lima, the Hitec Products team manager, spotted Julie earlier in the season when she had great rides in races like the tough Dutch classic Gelderland. Known for collecting Scandinavian talent Karl signed Julie midway through the 2013 season and she immediately settled into the team, winning a major mountain bike race in Norway and finishing on the podium of a Norwegian cup the next day.
As the leading female road cyclist coming out of Denmark Julie has had a break through season in 2014. She won the Danish time trial championships and sprinted to her first UCI podium in late April when she finished third on the final stage of the Elsy Jacobs tour behind Marianne Vos and Emma Johansson.
Not long ago Julie was in Girona for a summer getaway with her family/training camp and I asked her a simple question; ‘Why do you ride your bike?’
It’s something we – as professional cyclists – get asked a lot and most of the time our answers come out in random words that don’t really make sense, or even worse, we simply answer ‘because’.
But Julie has a way with words. So while women’s cycling is booming in Scandinavia it only seemed far to share why one of the best Scandinavian riders in the peloton rides. In this guest blog Julie talks about how she got into cycling, why she’s still doing it and why she thinks more women should ride their bikes.
Julie (middle) with her Hitec Products teammates Ashleigh Moolman and Cecilie Johnson at team presentation. Photo credit: Wei Yuet Wong
When I was 6 years old I started doing track and field. I competed in pretty much all disciplines until I decided to focus on long and middle distance running. I was running on a competitive level, but unfortunately I got an Achilles’ tendon injury.
I was advised to start cycling to stay fit. My dad used to be a rider, and my brother, Patrick, had just joined the local club, which meant I had good training buddies from the beginning.
By coincidence I went to a club training, and started going regularly. My dad had never been keen on the idea of any of us – my brother, my sister or I – racing, but after long time I convinced him to get me license.
Eventually my sister, Pernille, joined Patrick and I. When I had gotten over my injury, I started running again, but raced alongside for about a year. In the end I knew I had to choose between the two, and when it came down to that, it wasn’t hard at all. I chose bike racing.
Julie at the start of the 7th stage of the Giro Rosa. Photo Credit: Wei Yuet Wong.
That was back in 2007 and I haven’t stopped pedalling since. Now my life pretty much revolves around my bike. I’ve gone from riding my bike around the Danish roads, to racing against the World’s greatest female cyclist all around the World.
I can’t say I always love cycling; there have been days where I wish I had chosen another sport. I especially doubt my choice of sport during the cold Danish winter months. Using what feels like half an hour to get dressed, before walking out into minus degrees, looking like a Michelin man, and barely being able to move. Despite all the layers I will still come home frozen, needing help to get undressed.
“I get to meet fantastic and inspiring women from all over the World, and together we not only race, but also have fun off the bike.”
In those situations badminton or handball can seem tempting, but my ball-handling skills are very poor. However, even the coldest ride can be great if I’m riding with friends. All convinced that a coffee and cake stop halfway is a great idea, until we realize how cold it is to get started again.
For most of the year my suitcase is my home, and the Hitec Products girls and staff are my family. Together we travel the World, and get to experience new and beautiful places. I like to say, I get to choose the view from my office every single day. This is definitely one of the joys of being a bike rider.
There are tons of reasons why I love riding my bike. Everything, from seeing new beautiful places, and enjoying some time alone on solo rides, to the competitive part of the sport; the tactics, speed, and action.
However, one of the things I love the most is all the friends I’ve made over the years. I get to meet fantastic and inspiring women from all over the World, and together we not only race, but also have fun off the bike.
Just thinking about some of the fun we’ve had makes me smile. We’ve tried to win a trip to Africa, made a “Beat it” music video, and played a practical joke on Chloe, making her panic in the shower because she thought a man called Arnold was entering the room. There are a ton of other fun stories, which I could tell you if you ever decide to come for a ride…
Riding my bike, is one of the things that brings me most joy. So if you’re not already riding, here’s 10 reasons why you should get started:
#1. Travel the World eco-friendly on two wheels.
#2. You’ll get toned legs and a killer butt. #cansquat
#3. You’ll get to go and discover new places, and beautiful landscapes.
#4. Get happy – when exercising your brain releases endorphins that make you happy.
#5. It’s a great way to meet new people, and make new friends.
#6. When not riding with friends, it’s a great way to have to quality time with yourself and clear your head.
#7. When exercising you’ll burn more than you usually do = you can eat more, without gaining weight (win)!
#8. The majority of bike riders are men. Therefore, it’s a great place to meet (athletic) men!
#9. Ride with friends while catching up on gossip, like discussing the latest episode of “Keeping up with The Kardashians”
#10. Eat guilt-free snacks; pretty much everything can be used as ride-food!
Photo Credit: Wei Yuet Wong.
Chloe Hosking 