Melissa Hoskins (24 February 1991 – 31 December 2023) was an Australian track and road racing cyclist. She topped the general classification in the 2012 Tour of Chongming Island. She was a member of the Australian track cycling team pursuit team that finished in fourth place at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Hoskins announced her retirement from professional cycling on 2 May 2017.
Hoskins died on 31 December 2023 after being struck by a vehicle allegedly driven by her husband, cyclist Rohan Dennis.
In February 2018, she married cyclist Rohan Dennis,[4] and gave birth to a son at the end of that year.[5] The family split their time between Girona, La Massana, and Adelaide.[4] They subsequently had another child.[6]
Cycling career
Track
As a track cyclist, Hoskins specialised in endurance events.[3] She started track cycling when she was fifteen years old following participation at a Western Australian Institute of Sport talent identification event.[1] She started competitive cycling when she was 16 years old.[3] Her specialist event was the Team Pursuit.[1][3] She was awarded a cycling scholarship by the Australian Institute of Sport and the Western Australian Institute of Sport.[1][3] She was a member of Northern Districts Cycling Club.[1] She was coached by Gary Sutton and Darryl Benson.[1][3] Her primary training base was in Adelaide, with a secondary base in Varese, Italy.[1]
Hoskins finished 3rd in the team pursuit at the 2011 Beijing World Cup in Beijing.[1][3] She finished 1st in the team pursuit, 2nd in the omnium, and 3rd in the individual pursuit at the 2011 Australian Track Nationals in Sydney.[1][3] She finished 2nd in the team pursuit at the 2012 Track World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.[1][3] She finished 1st in the team pursuit and 4th in the individual pursuit at the 2012 Australian Track Nationals in Sydney, Australia.[1][3] In the team pursuit event at the 2012 Summer Olympics Test Event in London, her team set the fastest time in the event on the opening day of the competition. She was the team's leader in the event but her gate failed to open properly.[7] Her team eventually earned a gold in the event.[8] She earned a silver medal in the scratch race at the 2012 World Championships.[8]
Hoskins returned to the Olympic Games as part of the Australian team in the team pursuit at the 2016 Summer Olympics: the team entered the Olympics as one of the expected challengers for the gold medal. They were set back three days before the start of competition when four of their five selected riders – Hoskins, Ashlee Ankudinoff, Amy Cure and Georgia Baker – crashed when training on the Rio Olympic Velodrome.[12] Although she avoided major injury, Hoskins was on crutches until the eve of the qualifying round. She rode in qualification and the first round proper but was dropped for the final, where Australia secured fifth overall.[4]
Road
Hoskins also competed in road races and began racing professionally with the GreenEDGE–AIS team in 2012, specialising in sprint finishes on the flat. She won the first and third stages and topped the general classification in the 2012 Tour of Chongming Island, a category 2.1 stage race, and followed this by finishing second in the one-day Tour of Chongming Island World Cup.[2]
Death
On 30 December 2023, Hoskins was struck by a grey ute on Avenel Gardens Road, Medindie, an inner northern suburb of Adelaide, and died a day later from her injuries in hospital. She was 32. Police arrested her husband Rohan Dennis, charging him with causing death by dangerous driving, driving without due care, and endangering life.[6][13][14]
In December 2024, Dennis pleaded guilty to an aggravated charge of creating a likelihood of harm and is currently awaiting sentencing. Prosecutors dropped the initial charges of causing death by dangerous driving, driving without due care, and endangering life, acknowledging that Dennis acted recklessly but without intent to harm Hoskins.[15]
