The 89 kilometre race, which is part of the International Cycling Union (UCI) Women’s WorldTour, saw the peloton tackle 13 loops of the circuit in Paris.

Britain’s world champion Lizzie Armitstead opted to pull out of the race to better prepare for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, but the field included reigning Olympic champion Marianne Vos of The Netherlands and French favourite Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.

Vos had won the inaugural edition of the event back in 2014 in a sprint finish, but Russia’s Olga Zabelinskaya, Britain’s Hannah Barnes and the Dutch duo of Lucinda Brand and Chantal Blaak attempted to prevent a repeat by breaking away from the peloton.

Their efforts proved in vain after they were caught after six laps, but Brand soon hit out again with The Netherlands' Amy Pieters and Lauren Stephens from the United States.

The trio were hauled in during the final lap, making a sprint finish a certainty, despite the best efforts of another Dutch rider, Ellen van Dijk, to break away solo.

Hosking, who won the Tour of Chongming Island earlier this year, proved to have the fastest kick in the closing metres as the Australian crossed the line first in a time of 2hr, 1min and 27sec.

“To cross the line with my hands in the air was just crazy,” Hosking said.

“I still haven’t seen my teammates, I think they came down in some crashes, so I’m a bit like ‘I want to know where they are'.

“I just kept riding after the finish, and people probably thought I was a bit weird.

“But my family and my fiancé are about 200 metres past the finish line, so I just wanted to go and see them, I think we’re all in a bit of disbelief at the moment.”

Lotta Lepistö finished as the runner-up behind Hosking, with the Finnish rider ending on the same time as the winner.

Vos completed the top three of the race, which was viewed by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and UCI President Brian Cookson.