Australian cyclist Chloe Hosking reveals retirement plans over pay dispute with prospective teams

An Australian cycling great is prepared to end a 13-year career at the top over a pay dispute that may change the course of the sport for up-and-coming riders.

GEELONG, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 27: (L-R) Michael Matthews of Australia and Team Jayco Alula, Chloe Hosking of Australia and Australian National Team and Cadel Evans of Australia Ex- Pro-cyclist attend to the media press during the 7th Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race 2023 - Previews / #CadelRoadRace / on January 27, 2023 in Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

ONE of Australia’s top cyclists has lashed out at inequality within the sport as she faces an early retirement.

Chloe Hosking has entered contract purgatory, and may have competed in her last World Tour event after finishing 29th in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

The Commonwealth Games gold medalist was left without a professional contract and team after B&B Hotels collapsed in December.

Hosking said she had contract offers ahead of the 2023 season, but she was prepared to retire if she was not adequately compensated.

“I’ve had some conversations with teams and contract offers which I’ve said no to, I think I’ve been pretty vocal about women deserving a minimum salary and not having to race for less,” she said.

Chloe Hosking believes the pay gap between men’s and women’s professional contracts needs to be re-evaluated. Picture: Tim de Waele

“I think that my career also warrants a salary that is not just me scraping by the poverty line and I don’t know why I should settle for anything less.

“At the end of the day … if it (Great Ocean Road Race) is the last race, or World Tour race, of my career, I can be like ‘I’m really happy with that I was able to do this race, one of my favourite races’.”

Hosking could yet end up with a contract for the 2023 season, but with riders’ contracts running from January through to December, most seats have been filled already.

She finds herself in a similar situation to Melbourne’s Jimmy Whelan, who was unable to defend his Tour Down Under title in January without a professional contract.

Jimmy Whelan was unable to defend his 2022 Tour Down Under victory without a professional contract.

Whelan starred at the Australian Road Nationals earlier in the year, leading the breakaway for almost the entirety of the race before Australian sensation Luke Plapp chased him down in the final stretch of tarmac.

The 26 year old has the support of the international peloton, with Plapp, Tour de France stage winner Simon Clarke, and others supporting Whelan’s hunt for a contract on social media.

Hosking said her career had warranted a professional contract with a team, but conceded her greatest impact could come from outside the peloton.

“Some people might say that I’m cutting off my nose to spite my face, but I don’t see that,” she said.

Michael Matthews (left) and Chloe Hosking both raced in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race at the weekend. Picture: Tim de Waele

“I’ve had a 13 year career, I’ve won at the Commonwealth Games … I’ve won stages of the Giro d’Italia, this is a career that warrants more than the minimum salary.

“I know I can still have an impact in cycling but maybe my impact could be bigger if I stepped away now and tried to positively impact other female athletes.

“So while people might be sick of me and want me to shut up, I’m not going to because I have a platform that I can use, and even if this is the end of my career I hope that it enables other women to think ‘all right, why am I saying yes to something that is less than’.”

Originally published as Australian cyclist Chloe Hosking reveals retirement plans over pay dispute with prospective teams