Former cyclist Rohan Dennis has been arrested in Australia, in relation to the death of his wife Melissa Hoskins, as reported by multiple Australian media outlets. Dennis retired from cycling last year, racing for Jumbo-Visma, and is a multiple-time world time trial champion.
The Australian police have confirmed in a statement that a woman has died. "Following a crash in Medindie last night, we have arrested a man. Just after eight o'clock, emergency services were called after receiving a report of a woman who had been hit by a car." Dennis is said to have hit his wife at high speed with his pickup truck, right outside their own house.
"The 32-year-old woman had serious injuries and was taken to the Adelaide hospital, where she died overnight. After investigation, a 33-year-old man has been arrested for causing a fatal accident. He is due to appear in court on March 13th."
Hoskins, a mother of two, was also a very accomplished professional cyclist herself. She rode for Orica between 2012 and 2015 and was also active in track cycling at the Olympic Games. The two were married in 2018.
In two weeks, the biggest Australian cycling race, the Tour Down Under, will start. The Australian cycling federation is aware of the incident but has decided not to comment for the time being.
Dennis ended his cycling career last summer, wearing the colors of Jumbo-Visma, and had previously ridden for BMC, INEOS and Bahrain Victorious. He became the world champion in time trialing in 2018 and 2019 and won the opening time trial of the Tour de France in Utrecht in 2015, where he also secured the yellow jersey. Additionally, he won two stages in the Vuelta, a stage in the Giro d'Italia, the overall classification of the Tour Down Under in 2015 and several WorldTour-level races. At this year's World Time Trial Championships in Scotland, he finished seventh.