Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling is delighted to confirm that both Chloe Hosking and Peta Mullens will be part of the black and orange squad in 2016. The two Australians were important parts of the team this year, in very different ways, and both will be supported in the coming year as they continue to aim for entirely different targets.
“I’m really happy to re-sign with Wiggle Honda for 2016,” Hosking said. “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.”
Hosking made herself an indispensable part of Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s Classics and sprint squad, with her blisteringly fast lead out setting up numerous victories for teammate Jolien D’hoore, including the Belgian Champion’s maiden World Cup win in the Ronde van Drenthe.
The speedy Australian was also able to take two victories for herself, in the 7-Dorpenomloop Aalburg – where she outsprinted Marianne Vos – and in the Classique Morbihan, but her season was cut short by a hand injury in the summer.
“Personally, my 2015 season was really rewarding until an injury sidelined 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,” said Hosking. “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.”
“I really enjoyed working with all of the team this year, we created a really cohesive and dynamic squad that worked really well together. I’m really proud to be a part of the team that Rochelle [Gilmore] and Egon [van Kessel] have put together and I can’t wait to build on that success in 2016.
“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.”
Australian National Champion Mullens was a big part of Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling in 2014, then re-signed for the team following her National Championship Victory in January. The 27-year-old Victorian spent most of the 2015 season racing her mountainbike, as she seeks to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics, and the team will continue to support her in this.
There is no doubting Mullens’ talent on the road, however, where she will doubtless make some impact next year.
“I’m excited to sign for my third year with the Wiggle Honda team,” she said. “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.
“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.
“Rochelle has believed in me for ten years now and was patient when I wasn’t ready to fully commit to cycling,” Mullens added. “To share my journey with her through the Commonwealth Games, my National Road title this year and hopefully the Olympics just seems so fitting. I’m hoping for that fairytale finish!”
Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s Owner and Team Manager Rochelle Gilmore is delighted to secure the return of the two Australians who, with the addition of double World Track Champion Nettie Edmondson, take the team’s compliment to three.
“Peta Mullens is an extraordinary athlete,” said Gilmore. “She’s known as the #DirtWiggler due to her passionate focus on MTB races.
“It’s so incredibly difficult to comprehend how winning the National Road Championship in January this year didn’t see Peta shift her focus over to the road, however it does show that she’s very committed to her MTB goals. Peta will go 100% for MTB Olympic selection during 2016 and if or when she hears that she may not make the selection, she will then shift he focus over to the road. If Peta takes her road racing seriously, i’m sure she will make the Olympic Games Road Team.
“Chloe Hosking has some work to do following a mid season accident that saw her sit the 2nd half of the season out, having rehabilitation,” Gilmore continued. “We Hope Chloe is finally back now, gaining fitness every single day….. Ready for the National Championship and the summer of cycling down under. Chloe will focus on Qatar and the Wold Championships during 2016. Chloe will be the powerhouse leadout rider for Jolien D’hoore and Georgia Bronzini when required. I’m sure Chloe will be spot on ready for the 2016 World Championships in Qatar.”
With Hosking and Mullens the confirmed riders for the Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling team in 2016 now number fourteen. Along with the two Australians – and compatriot Edmondson – will be four Britons in Olympic Champion Dani King, Amy Roberts, Anna Christian and new signing, two-time Junior World Champion Lucy Garner. The team also retains its two Italians, in former two-time road World Champion Giorgia Bronzini and Tour of Flanders winner Elisa Longo Borghini.
Belgian and Japanese National Road Champions Jolien D’hoore and Mayuko Hagiwara also remain, along with French Time Trial Champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot, while Swedish Champion Emma Johansson, and Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s first Dutch rider, Amy Pieters, complete the three confirmed new signings to date.
Stay tuned for the team’s final rider confirmations in the coming weeks.
