what we know about the death of Australian champion Melissa Hoskins, hit by a car

The Australian rider, wife of former Tour de France yellow jersey Rohan Dennis, died on Saturday after being hit by a car near her home in Australia.

Australian cycling in mourning. Track rider Melissa Hoskins died at the age of 32, on the night of Saturday December 30 to Sunday December 31, after being hit by a vehicle in the Medindie district of Adelaide, in the southwest of Australia.

Who was Melissa Hoskins?

Melissa Hoskins, whose maiden name was Melissa Dennis, since her marriage to another prominent cyclist, Rohan Dennis, in 2018, has been a track cycling specialist. She notably won the title of team pursuit world champion during the 2015 Worlds, in France, at the national velodrome of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.

The best medal of his record at the Worlds, which also includes three other medals in team pursuit (silver in 2012, 2013 and bronze in 2014). On an individual level, she also won silver in the scratch in 2012. She had also worn the colors of Australia in the discipline during two Olympic Games, in London in 2012 (a fourth place in the team pursuit ) and in Rio in 2016, without managing to get on the podium. Melissa Hoskins also had a career on the road, in the ranks of the Australian team Orica-AIS between 2012 and 2015.

The Australian Olympic Committee expressed on X (formerly Twitter) its “greatest sadness” and addressed “condolences to Melissa’s family and friends, and to the cycling community”. Several of her former teammates also paid tribute to the native of Kalamunda, near Perth, on social media. “My heart is very heavy. My thoughts are with his children, his family and his friends. This is a difficult and tragic moment”wrote Anna Meares, with whom Melissa Hoskins had competed in the Olympic Games.

What do we know about the events of December 30?

The facts took place “shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday evening”according to a press release from the police of South Australia, the region where Adelaide is located. “Police and emergency services were called to Avenel Gardens Road after a woman was hit by a car”it is explained in the press release, which also specifies that the victim “Suffered serious injuries and was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital”, where she died. Avenel Gardens Road is located in Medindie, in the immediate northern suburbs of Adelaide where Melissa Hoskins lived.

At a press conference held Monday morning, police did not provide further details. When asked if the victim was on a bicycle when he was hit, theActing Deputy Commissioner Rob Papworth responded :“Pas far as I know”. The latter added that video surveillance images would perhaps help determine the circumstances of Melissa Hoskins’ death.

Who is involved and what are the consequences of the case?

A “33 year old man”also living “from Medindie” and “known to the victim” was arrested by the police on Saturday. Contacted by the editorial staff of Franceinfo: sport, the Australian police did not want to give the identity of the suspect charged with “manslaughter by reckless driving, dangerous driving and endangering the lives of others”.

The Australian press claims that Rohan Dennis was at the wheel of the pick-up which hit Melissa Hoskins, with whom she lived with their two children. Dennis is a very young retiree from the international peloton since 2023 was his last year as a professional rider. He decided to interrupt his career at the age of 33, after winning two time trial world championship titles (2018, 2019), at least one stage on each of the three Grand Tours and after having worn the yellow jersey on the 2015 Tour de France.

The suspect, arrested on Saturday, was released on bail on Sunday. This last is due to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on March 13, 2024.