Canberra's Chloe Hosking will ride at the world championships after Cycling Australia backflipped on its decision to only take five female riders to the pinnacle event.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cycling Australia announced on Thursday night it will take a team featuring new additions Hosking, Rachel Neylan, alongside Gracie Elvin, Katrin Garfoot, Shara Gillow, Sarah Roy and Amanda Spratt in the elite women's division.
Hosking is Australia's top-ranked rider but she was originally overlooked for the Australian world championships squad to compete in Bergen, Norway.
Cycling Australia initially selected just five female riders, instead of a full team of seven, while opting to send a full team of nine male riders.
The governing body was widely criticised for choosing not to fill all the spots available in the world's third-ranked women's team.
Cycling Australia was notified by an independent selection review panel that appeals lodged by Hosking and Neylan about selections had both been allowed.
The panel referred the matter back to Cycling Australia to reconsider the selection decision, which led to the announcement on Thursday night.
Hosking, who won last year's La Course by the Tour de France, slammed officials for their lack of support for female athletes, as the decision caused allegations of a lack of gender equity.
Cycling Australia high performance director Simon Jones says it's time to look forward to racing with athletes in mind.
"I take this opportunity to welcome Chloe and Rachel to the team," Jones said.
"I'm also looking forward to sitting down and meeting the team face to face in Bergen and discussing my vision, ideas and plans for the future."
Fellow Canberran Elvin was selected but she still had already raised her concerns on social media as to why Cycling Australia hadn't picked a full team, saying "deserving riders" had been omitted.
She wasn't alone in voicing her support, with former Paris-Roubaix winner Matthew Hayman saying the "baffling" decision hurt the women's team's chances of winning the world championship road race.
Hosking finished seventh at the world championships last year and is ranked No. 8 in the world - Katrin Garfoot is the next best ranked Aussie at No.20 but she has already booked a ticket to the world titles.
Hosking initially thought the chances of overturning the selection decision and winning her appeal were slim but the result eventually went in her favour.
Hosking says the issue was far greater than personal ambition and she was not willing to stay silent on the issue.
