Lauretta Hanson

Lauretta Hanson is not a high-profile member of the Australian cycling team, but out on the road she is among the most important.

An established member of the UCI Women's WorldTeam Lidl-Trek team, Lauretta has built a reputation as a strong, unwavering support rider, a domestique, who works tirelessly to ensure other riders win.

High-profile Lidl-Trek rider Ellen van Dijk has made it clear her success depends on the support of Lauretta.

“Lauretta is very valuable,” Dutchwoman Ellen said. “She is always where she needs to be. She does what she needs to do and is super strong. It’s not [that] she is a domestique [because] she is not as strong. On the contrary. In smaller teams she could get her own results, but it’s a choice she made and that is great for us as a team.

“She always gives her all and without riders like her you just don’t win races. She is loyal on and off the bike. She is always happy and will never complain. These personalities are important on a team.”

Lauretta is more than comfortable in her support role, chasing down breakaways and helping to haul team leaders to the front of the race.
"As a domestique I love helping my teammates to achieve the best results possible,” she said.

“Other women told me there isn’t a place in women’s pro cycling for a professional domestique and historically in women’s cycling you never got a contract if you weren’t a winner. But now teams see more and more they need dedicated riders to help other wins. I enjoy helping others win as much as myself.

“A lot of the time people at home will ask me how my race went. Having coverage makes such a big difference for riders like me. You can now see the other players than those in the top 10 of the results. You can see the story of the race now. I hope this makes younger riders realise there is a place for domestiques and that it’s not all about the winners.”

Lauretta grew up on a farm near the small Victorian town of Fern Hill, riding bikes around bush tracks.

“We had a great time as kids on the farm,” she said. “We had so much space roaming around and riding bikes on the property. Cycling is the same feeling of being free. It’s exploring. Cycling gives you the opportunity to see the world. I have seen more of the world than I expected to ever see and that’s largely due to my cycling career.”

She joined a club when she was eight, following the example of her mum Heather, who had been an elite cyclist in the 1970s and 80s.

“My mum’s family used to be cyclists and my mum was Australian national champion in 1981,” she tells me. “When she was racing there weren’t opportunities outside of Australia and she went on to choose a career in nursing.”

As an 18-year-old, Lauretta landed a scholarship to a college in Tennessee and ended up signing with a professional team and racing in the United States and Canada for six years.

In 2019, she made the switch to Europe, signing with Trek-Segafredo and playing an instrumental role in many of their successes as a domestique.

Lauretta was part of the Australian team that competed in the road race at the 2023 world championships in Glasgow. In tough conditions on a technical city circuit, with the Australian riders blighted by illness, mechanical issues and crashes, she hung on to finish 23rd. She was also part of the Australian team finished sixth in the team time trial mixed relay.

In 2024, Lauretta finished second in the road race at the Australian road championships – the race her mum won in the 1980s – and fifth in the time trial, before claiming a podium finish at the Geelong Classic criterium. In Europe, she was eighth at Omloop van het Hageland.

Lauretta made her Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 Games when she competed in the women's road race. Finishing 22nd with a time of 4:04:23, she was the highest placed Australian women in the road race.

Outside of cycling, Lauretta has completed a bachelor of business, sport and fitness administration/management at Deakin University.