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It was third time lucky for Australian under-23 cyclist Chloe Hosking in yesterday's women's 119km International Cup race on a fast street circuit in Masterton.
Hosking was pipped on the line twice last week by compatriot Rochelle Gilmore in the Tour of New Zealand but took sweet revenge yesterday.
In a race which featured numerous attacks and some tight marking, Hosking timed her run to the line perfectly, taking the win in three hours four minutes nine seconds. Second place went to Gilmore, fractionally ahead of Canadian Gina Grain.
The 66-strong field flew around the 14-lap, 8.5km circuit in ideal conditions. The biggest break of the day came when New Zealand Olympian Jo Kiesanowski and Wellington teenager Rachel Mercer got 40sec up on the peloton by the 70km mark. But with the well-organised Australian teams ever-watchful, the pair could not put on enough time to steal a win.
Kiesanowski and Mercer finished in the top 15, Kiesanowski the first New Zealander home in fifth place and Mercer the second in 14th, both on the same time as Hosking.
- NZPA
