Wiggle Down Under’s Chloe Hosking held onto the series leader’s yellow jersey after the third stage of the 2015 Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic, in Pontarlington, Victoria, as teammate Giorgia Bronzini took second place. The hilly circuit race was won by former Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling rider Peta Mullens after a long, solo break, but former two-time road World Champion Bronzini’s sprint power on the uphill finishing circuit saw her hold off another former teammate in Roxsolt’s Lauren Kitchen.
Wiggle Down Under’s stage one winner Hosking finished fifth in the uphill sprint and, following her third place behind Orica-AIS’ Gracie Elvin on stage two, maintains her overall lead.
“I wasn’t sure how I would feel going into today’s third stage,” Hosking said afterwards. “It’s on a really tough circuit and isn’t necessarily suited to my strengths but we had agreed that I just had to glue myself to Gracie Elvin’s wheel and suffer and that’s what I did.
“I wasn’t able to go with the final kick for the line at the end but luckily we had Gio up there who finished second so that was fantastic,” Hosking added.
Fifth place on the stage means that Hosking now has 26 points in the points-based General Classification but, thanks to consistent finishing from Kitchen means that the former Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling rider trails by just two points with one stage to go.
The final stage in Williamstown, Victoria, which was won by Bronzini as part of her near-total domination of the 2014 Bay Crit series could see a close battle between a number of overall contenders, with the final yellow jersey going down to the wire.
“I’ll be honest I’m a little nervous about GC,” Hosking admitted. “Coming into the series this wasn’t even something I had thought about so to be in the position is a bit of a shock.
“Two points is not a big buffer and definitely not comfortable either,” she added. “But I know we’ve got a great team for the Williamstown course and the girls have been so fantastic and supportive all week I know they’ll be there to help me keep the yellow tomorrow.”
Result
1. Peta Mullens
2. Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle Down Under)
3. Lauren Kitchen (Roxsolt)
5. Chloe Hosking (Wiggle Down Under)
