Chloe Hosking is this years winner(Image credit: Mark Gunter)
Peta Mullens wins the women's race(Image credit: Mark Gunter/Cyclingnews.com)
Both Chloe Hosking and Peta Mullens have joined the raft of riders re-signing with Wiggle-Honda for the 2016 season. Hosking moved to the team last winter while Mullens has been with the Belgian-registered outfit since 2014.
The 25-year-old Hosking had a good start to the year, just missing out on the overall victory at the Ladies Tour of Qatar and victories at the Rabobank 7-Dorpenomloop Aalburg and La Classique Morbihan. She also worked as a lead-out rider for fellow sprinter Jolien d’Hoore. However, an incident with some broken glass on the evening following La Course resulted in tendon, nerve and artery damage in her hand and ended her season.
“I'm really happy to re-sign with Wiggle Honda for 2016,” Hosking said in a team press release. “2015 has been a fantastic season for the team, and I was really happy to have been a part of what was the team's most successful season to date.
“Personally, my 2015 season was really rewarding until an injury side-lined me at the end of July so I'm really looking forward to building on the results that I achieved at the beginning of this year. I was really grateful for the team staying behind me as I rehabbed and I want to give back to them in 2016 with more results and more team victories.
Hosking will once again work as a lead-out rider for D’hoore and Giorgia Bronzini, but she also has her own targets for next season. “My big goal in 2016 is the Qatar World Championships so everything is about preparing myself for that, starting with the Ladies Tour of Qatar in February.”
Mullens is the current national road race champion of Australia, a victory that earned her a one-year extension to her contract at Wiggle-Honda. She is also a former two-time mountain bike champion. She has put most of her focus into mountain biking over the past season in order to qualify for the Rio Olympic Games.
“I'm excited to sign for my third year with the Wiggle Honda team. Every year has been such a different dynamic for me but I'd really like to step back to the road a bit more this season and see if I can learn a trick or two from Egon and the girls,” said Mullens. “I'm targeting some early season form in an attempt to defend my National Road title and then gain selection for the Olympics on the MTB. I feel I have every opportunity to make that happen.”
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Other riders to extend with Wiggle-Honda in recent weeks are Annette Edmondson, Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Amy Roberts and Anna Christian. Lucy Garner and Emma Johansson will be new to the team in 2016.
