So the Canberra cyclist is heading into women's road race at the UCI World Championships with confidence as she looks to add a world crown to a bulging trophy cabinet that includes a Commonwealth Games gold medal.

Hosking will be one of Australia's main hopes in the 157.7-kilometre race in Belgium on Saturday, especially if it comes down to a bunch sprint.

It's been a tough year for the 30-year-old, overcoming the coronavirus and then a heart condition before eventually getting the all clear to get back on the bike.

It hasn't taken her long to get back to winning ways, with stage wins in the Ladies Tour of Norway as well as at the Women's Tour of Ardeche.

Hosking felt she wasn't back to her absolute best - the kind of form she had at the Gold Coast Games in 2018 - with her build-up not ideal.

"I feel like I'm back at the level I was at pre-COVID. Is that my best? Probably not," Hosking said.

"But it's still good. I think it's good enough. It's definitely not Comm Games level, but it's good enough to win races and it's good enough to have me at the pointy end of the bike races."

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It's not a flat course by any stretch, which would suit the race coming down to a bunch sprint and playing to Hosking's strengths.

But it is the most suitable she's had at a worlds for a while.

There's a few short, sharp climbs, which will make for a "super unpredictable" race.

She felt she can get over them and if it comes down to a sprint she'll be getting "her elbows out" heading for the line.

Hosking's previously finished sixth in the 2011 worlds and seventh in 2016.

"It's bumpy, but it's definitely the most flat world championship we've had in a long time," she said.

"It's really like a Classics-style race we have in February-March-April and I love those races.

"I have to go in with confidence knowing I do do well on those types of courses as so much of it is about positioning more so than your ability to climb.

"I think I can get over these short, sharp, punchy climbs and go pretty deep into the race."

While Dutch star Annemiek van Vleuten might be the favourite, Hosking felt it wasn't a course that necessarily suited last year's runner-up.

Instead, Hosking said it was a wide open field, which would make for an exciting race - on a type of course she would like to see more of at the worlds.

"Because the race isn't so difficult, it opens it up a bit more so you get more people capable of influencing, impacting and potentially winning the race, which is really exciting," she said.

"I think we need that more from championship events, instead of just having three people that can win.

"I actually don't think it's an Annemiek-style course, it's more the punchy, Classics riders - so the Belgians, there's some British, there's some American, you can rattle off a bunch of names which does add to how dynamic and unpredictable I think the race is going to be."

UCI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WOMEN'S ROAD RACE

Saturday: Women's 157.7km road race from Antwerp to Leuven, Belgium. Starts 8.20pm. Live on SBS Viceland from 9.30pm.