Chloe Hosking is one of Australia's most successful road cyclists with more than 40 wins to her name, including Commonwealth Games gold.
But her professional career was left in limbo after the collapse of her French-based team in December left her without a team just weeks before the European season.
"I found out three weeks before the start of the season that I didn't have a job, and that my 13-year career was over," she said.
"That was a hard pill to swallow."
With most pro teams already full for the season, Hosking said the only offers forthcoming weren't financially viable.
"The amount they were offering didn't adequately compensate me for my experience and expertise," she said.
"I recognise my worth, what I can bring to a team.
"I'm not over in Europe for opportunities, I'm there to win races and lead teams and if I wasn't going to be paid to represent that then there's a next stage of my life that I'm really excited about pursuing."
Faced with the prospect of premature retirement, the 32-year-old decided to return home to where it all began — bunch rides around Canberra.
'Having friends to ride with'
After joining in a few club races on her home circuit, Hosking noticed there "weren't many opportunities for juniors". So, she started her own bunch ride.
"I had this when I was coming through the sport in Canberra," she said.
"It was having friends to ride with that really kept me on the bike when I was 13, 14, 15 — which is an age group where you lose so many, particularly young women, to other interests.
"The starting point is trying to build a community and friendship group so that the kids want to get on their bikes and ride their bikes.
"And then building on that, giving them a bit of opportunity to ride on open roads, build confidence on open roads, because eventually you stop riding with your parents, so you need to start learning how to behave safely on the road."
On top of teaching bunch skills and road safety, Hosking finishes the Monday morning rides with a mountain sprint "to tap into that competitive instinct".
"What really made me fall in love with the sport was racing and so it's about allowing the kids to have that exposure and just testing their legs," Hosking said.
"Learning their strengths, learning where they can maybe improve, and from there, they can really fine-tune what they want to do with their cycling."
Inspiring 'a lifelong love of cycling'
Hosking — who is also in her final semester of a law degree at the Australian National University — is already proving a "huge inspiration" for junior riders like 13-year-old Darcy Henwood.
"I think it's really good that pros can come and ride with us, especially since we're such a small place," she said.
"I'm one of the only under 15 girls in Canberra, so, for me it's really hard to find a group to ride with."
Henwood has her sights set on a career in cycling and said she had already learned "lots of things" from Hosking to improve her safety on the road.
"I think I can learn a lot of tips in my racing especially as I get older and going into more complex races where it's actually more about tactics rather than who's faster," she said.
While Hosking is preparing to race in the United States later this year, and hasn't ruled out returning to Europe, it's "giving back" to the Canberra cycling community and juniors like Henwood that is currently fuelling her love for the sport.
"It's about sharing the passion and love of cycling with juniors and then hoping that it grows into something — if it's a world tour contract in a few years for them, fantastic," she said.
"But if it's just a lifelong love of cycling, that's also great."
