Australian cycling champ charged over wife's death

Former world champion cyclist Rohan Dennis was reported to have been charged in connection with the death of his wife, Olympic cyclist Melissa Hoskins, who died after being struck by a vehicle while riding in Adelaide.

Australian media reports said Dennis had been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, endangering life and driving without due care. The reports said he had been released on bail to appear at the Adelaide Magistrates Court in March.

A statement from the state police of South Australia released on Sunday said a 32-year-old woman died in the hospital after being hit by a car in an inner northern suburb of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia.

Police said a 33-year-old man has been arrested and charged with causing death by dangerous driving, driving without due care and endangering life. The driver was known to the woman and given bail to appear in court on March 13, police said.

Hoskins, 32, competed for Australia at the London and Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Police said emergency services were called to an address in Medindie, an Adelaide suburb, around 8 pm Saturday, following reports a woman had been struck by a vehicle.

Police said the woman, later identified as Hoskins, suffered serious injuries and died after being taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Hoskins competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics on the track in the team pursuit and was in the squad that won the 2015 world title in the event.

"Melissa described her team pursuit gold medal at the 2015 world championships as the highlight of her career but for the rest of us, the highlight was just having her around,” AusCyling chief executive Marne Fechner said in a statement on Monday.

"Although she retired in 2017, her presence as an alumnus of the sport has been felt and appreciated by many in the cycling and riding community.”

Hoskins also competed in road cycling for several years with Australian team GreenEDGE.

The 33-year-old Dennis won two world titles in the road time trial, as well as silver in the team pursuit at the London Olympics and bronze in the road time trial at the Tokyo Olympics.

He became the seventh Australian to wear the yellow jersey as race leader at the Tour de France by winning the opening time trial in 2015, setting a race record for his average speed.

Dennis, who has retired from competitive cycling, was named Australian cyclist of the year in 2015 and 2018 and won the 2015 Tour Down Under in his home city of Adelaide. After his retirement and their marriage in 2018, the Dennis family relocated to Adelaide from Europe.

Hoskins and Dennis were this month scheduled to take part in an event at the Tour Down Under in Adelaide.

"We are devastated by the news of Melissa Hoskins death. It’s an extremely tragic situation which has seen the loss of a young mum and champion cyclist,” Tour Down Under organizers said in a statement Monday. "Given the circumstances, Rohan Dennis will no longer be participating.”

Agencies