It was a different approach to 2017 when the Canberra native spent more time at home with her partner and family than past seasons as an elite rider.
2018 will be more of a traditional season for Hosking, who since 18 has spent her life forging a career over in Europe.
"This year, I'm switching my focus more to Europe," Hosking said, "do more racing for the team, be European based and get back into the swing of things. I'm really trying to grow, my focus is on Tokyo and I'm trying to change the sort of rider I am going into that."
The hilly course had been leaked from Tokyo organisers last year and while less mountainous than the Rio Olympics, it will still challenge riders over the climbs. The women won't have to attempt any ascents of the lower slopes of Mount Fuji, unlike the men, so that should bring riders like Hosking into the race.
The 27-year-old enjoyed a solid season last year, perhaps without the extreme highs of a La Course victory.
"You can look at my results, they weren't bad," she said. "I got a lot of second places, I think 11 second places and four firsts. So after Katrin Garfoot, who got two medals at worlds, I was the most successful Australian rider. So, it wasn't bad."
A key stop for Hosking will be the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, with the course looking to favour sprinters and punchy attackers.
"Yeah, I definitely want to go," Hosking said. "I'm just going to ride and see if my results get me selected and then see what happens."
Hosking has a love-hate relationship with cycling in Australia, she maintains a good training regime whilst based in Canberra with the local riders but doesn't race a great deal and has been a fierce opponent of the nationals in Ballarat. She opted out of competing in the criterium this year, the event which suits her the best at the road titles.
That decision prompted some within the women's peloton to speculate that the reason for her absence was because she was focusing more on the road race, and Mitchelton-Scott sports director Gene Bates singled her out as a big threat ahead of the race but Hosking laughed that off.
"No, that wasn't the rumour," Hosking said. "Or if it was, it wasn't correct. No, I don't do the crit because I hate racing as an individual against seven professional riders (Michelton-Scott). I think it's a stupid system and I don't think you should be able to race as a professional team at the nationals.
"That's my small protest that I can do because I have to ride the road race to get selected for national teams. If I didn't have to do that, I wouldn't go to Ballarat at all. "
Hosking doesn't shrink from making bigger protests as well, famously fighting her way onto the 2017 World Championships Road Race squad after Cycling Australia had announced that they would take less than the full complement available to them.
An aspiring lawyer, She wasn't afraid to take up the appeal, but now looks to redirect her mental fortitude into her racing.
"My focus is Europe, I want to do well in those big races, but my team is here (at the Santos Women's Tour Down Under), so I want to get a result for them here."
