Harrowing scenes as teammate of cycling champ Melissa Hoskins killed after alleged incident with her Olympic medallist husband Rohan Dennis breaks down at press conference

Amanda Spratt’s tears have exposed the depth of grief in cycling as the sport mourns the death of Melissa Hoskins.

A minute’s silence will be observed on Friday morning before the women’s Tour Down Under starts in Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills.

The same tribute was paid on Sunday ahead of the women’s road race at the national championships.

Amanda Spratt was a former teammate of Melissa Hoskins (pictured together)

Spratt was visibly saddened as she spoke about Hoskins, a former road teammate, during the Tour Down Under pre-race media conference on Thursday.

“I’m glad we get the minute to honor her before the race,” said the Australian cyclist.

Race director Annette Edmondson then intervened to allow Spratt to calm himself down.

“We just want to remember Mel for her great personality,” Edmondson said.

“She was a light and she shone it on so many people.”

Hoskins died in hospital hours later after a traffic incident on December 30 near her home in Adelaide.

The mother of two was a two-time Olympian and world track champion.

Her husband Rohan Dennis, an Olympic medalist and former road champion, is facing charges related to her driving in her death.

Melissa Hoskins, mother of two and two-time Olympian, died hours later in hospital after a traffic incident on December 30 near her home in Adelaide

Hoskins was a popular figure in sports with a wide network; she and Edmondson rode the track together for much of their careers.

“It’s extremely tragic … there are a lot of people here who knew her,” Edmondson said.

“She lived here, she trained here. These are really sad weeks for us as a cycling community.

“We’re going to spend that minute remembering her and we’re here for a race. We have a lot of professional women here who are here to do work.”

Jayco AlUla cyclist Alex Manly, another rider who rode with Hoskins on the track, spoke about finding the difficult balance between dealing with grief and continuing to race.

“She’s very empowering and hopefully we can all remember her and then give her the respect, and her family the respect that they want,” Manly said.

“Just honor her, but then get on with the racing, which is what they would want.”