The Coffee Ride #115, with Reece Homfray

LESS than 24 hours after winning on the Champs Elysees in Paris on the final day of the Tour de France, Australian Chloe Hosking stopped to reflect on arguably the biggest moment of her career.

Reece Homfray

5 min read

July 27, 2016 - 12:30AM

Australia's Chloe Hosking celebrates as she crosses the finish line winning the third edition of La Course by Le Tour de France on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris.

Cycling

Don't miss out on the headlines from Cycling. Followed categories will be added to My News.

AUSSIE CYCLING FRESHLY BREWED EVERY WEDNESDAY MORNING, EXCLUSIVE TO ADVERTISER.COM.AU

CHLOE HOSKING RISES AGAIN

LESS than 24 hours after winning on the Champs Elysees in Paris on the final day of the Tour de France, Australian Chloe Hosking stopped to reflect on arguably the biggest moment of her career.

Did that really happen?

After her recovery ride on Monday Hosking was still almost as stunned as she was when she clasped both hands over her mouth as she won La Course by Le Tour on Sunday.

Sunday’s win was her fourth at WorldTour level for the season which is a remarkable return from 2015 that was ruined by nerve and tendon damage to her left hand.

Now the 25-year-old who rides for Wiggle High 5 — a team run by Aussie Rochelle Gillmore and backed by the online cycling giant — is eyeing the world championships in Doha in October.

THE REACTION ...

“My parents have been such a huge support my whole career, they come to Europe a lot but they don’t see me win in Europe very much,” she said.

“So to finally win when they’re here, and on the Champs Elysees, it doesn’t get bigger than that.

“I knew exactly where they were so I kept riding after the finish, I just wanted to share that moment with them.”

THE CELEBRATION ...

“We kept it very chilled out, we had a dinner at our hotel with all the team and a few media and all our staff so it was really nice, low-key, you’ve got to savour the moment but keep it all in perspective.

“It is a big race, and I’m so thrilled to have won it, but at the end of the day I’ve got to stay focused and my goal is the world championships at the end of the year.

Hosking all smiles on the podium. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

“So you do kind of have to go ‘oh it is just another race’ because I race again next week and need to stay on top of my recovery and do it all again.

“I don’t know how girls like Marianne Vos who wins races like this week-in, week-out do it.”

THE FORM ...

Asked whether she was in career-best form, Hosking said “100 per cent”.

“I’ve never really felt this strong on the bike and I’m so happy with where everything is at, I’m almost a bit panicked because I hope this isn’t my best form.

“The world championships are in October so I hope I can keep building on this but it was always a plan of mine to have a quiet spring even though that was hard mentally to deal with, then really ramp it up to the world championships.

Hosking rides at the London Olympics.

“The peloton has been on such a high level this year with everyone getting ready for Rio, I just want all those girls to leave because they’re making the racing much too hard.”

THE SEASON ...

“I got an injury this time last year which ruled me out for the rest of the season so I had to go to the drawing board with my coach and we really planned this season, which I haven’t had the luxury to do before.

“I wanted to try to win the national championship in Australia, it didn’t happen but I got sixth and it was the best I’d ever ridden on that course so I could take confidence from that to know the preparation got me to where I needed to be.

Hosking sprays champagne after winning Stage 4 of the Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic Stage. Picture: Colleen Petch.

“Then it was always inevitable my form was going to go down, you can’t hold that all year, so to win in Doha was a bonus.

“To get the win in China was a nice surprise, I had just had a break and was re-building but now with the win in Giro and here it’s come off a really hard period of training.

“It’s extra motivation going to the Doha worlds.

“The world championships might not necessarily be a sprint but they could well be.”

THE JOURNEY ...

“Young riders get a lot of pressure and people want them to be a certain thing straight away, it doesn’t happen like that.

“I remember when I first signed with HTC, Allan Peiper was one of the directors and he had worked with Mark Cavendish and he said when Cav came onto this team he was the worst climber in the peloton.

Australia's gold winner Rochelle Gilmore, left and Bronze winner Hosking, right pose during the medal ceremony after the women's 112km cycling road race at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010.

“Now he’s been world champion and won anything that a sprinter wants to win.

“It takes time for young riders to develop and I was fortunate I had quite influential riders to use as mentors and now I’m starting to see how they rode and prepared for races.”

PORTE BEGINS TO CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN

RICHIE Porte could not have been more impressive in the Tour de France as he begins the ascension he hopes will lead to the yellow jersey.

Chris Froome might have been unbeatable in this year’s race but Porte’s ability to respond to bad luck (a puncture on Stage 2, crash on Stage 12 and 19), illness (urinary tract infection) and the pressure and responsibility that comes with leading a team in his own right saw him tick every box.

Next year he will almost certainly go to the Tour as BMC’s outright leader and should have the support of Tejay van Garderen.

At 31 he is coming into his prime as a GC rider and has at least five years to try to climb not only onto the podium but onto the top step in Paris.

Cadel Evans was 34 when he won the Tour in 2011 and it is interesting to note the path he took to get there.

2005: 8th (Lotto)

2006: 4th (Lotto)

2007: 2nd (Lotto)

2008: 2nd (Lotto)

2009: 30th (Lotto)

2010: 26th (BMC)

2011: 1st (BMC)

2012: 7th (BMC)

2013: 39th (BMC)

Evans never lost the faith or belief he could win the world’s toughest bike race and the challenge now is for Porte to do the same.

“I climbed really well, and also had a bit of bad luck,” Porte said in Paris on Sunday.

“I’m looking forward to coming back and giving it another shot with BMC. I had great support from my teammates and all in all, it was a great experience.”

QUOTES OF THE WEEK ...

“The Aussies are the worst winners in the world, and they’re the worst losers in the world.”

- Bradley Wiggins reignites the rivalry between Great Britain and Australia ahead of the Olympics in an interview with The Telegraph.

“I am super sorry for Gerro, it was his spot, although I’ve got a start it was his spot and you wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”

- Classy words from Simon Clarke after he was called into the Australian team for Rio to replace Simon Gerrans.

“Despite a strong start to the season, it was ultimately the pressure I put on myself to perform, the expectations I had, and the mental battle I played with myself when things weren’t going as planned that ultimately was the undoing.”

- Tiffany Cromwell explains her disappointment at missing out on selection for Rio.

TWEET, TWEET