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“Delightment!” That was the first word that came to Steele Von Hoff’s mind after winning the national criterium championship for the second year running in Ballarat on Wednesday night.
“Ah, that’s not a word,” he continued, “but you know what I mean.”
The 27-year-old had just out-sprinted red-hot favourite Caleb Ewan in a thrilling finish to what was a fast, but largely uneventful race.
The field stayed mostly together for the first two-thirds of the race before Ben Hill managed to make something of a move off the front. He was soon joined by Cameron Bayly and together the duo looked to have some chance at holding off the chasers.
But veteran Aussie WorldTour rider and multi Grand-Tour stage winner Michael Rogers was having none of it. Rogers, who had sat at or near the front of the field for most of the evening joined forces with Travis Meyer and the pair bridged across with just a lap to go.
The group of four then refused to work with each other and were quickly swallowed by the main field, which included all of the big sprinters.
Ewan was the name on everyone’s lips but Von Hoff, who had learnt a valuable lesson in sprinting against the young tyro at last week’s Bay Crits, refused to concede.
“I learnt from Portarlington (Stage 3 of the Bay Crits) where Caleb absolutely whooped me,” said Von Hoff after the presentations.
“I was on his wheel and he just accelerated away from me and I left it too late to drop my gears. So (tonight) I dropped my gears earlier and as soon as he went I was right on him, in his slip stream, so all I had to do was sit there and try and come around him. When I came out next to him I still didn’t know if I could do it or not. He is an incredible rider.”
Ewan praised his one and only teammate in the race, Leigh Howard, but conceded that they may have mistimed their run in to the sprint.
“Leigh was quite strong,” Ewan said at the post-race press conference. “He was covering a lot of the moves and he also had enough to lead me out in the end. He went quite early down the back straight. Looking back it might have been a little bit too early, and I came off the wheel a little bit too early, but it doesn’t matter.”
For Von Hoff, the fact that riders of the calibre of Ewan, Scott Sunderland (third place) and Anthony Giacoppo (fourth) were all contesting the final sprint with him made this year’s victory so much sweeter than his first win last year, when the Drapac team – who looked to have the race sewn up – crashed on the final lap, drastically reducing the numbers and quality in the final bunch sprint.
“Drapac decked it (last year),” said Von Hoff, “so I wouldn’t say it was a hollow victory, but it kind of was to me a little bit because I wasn’t racing the full field. But this year everyone was there and I had Caleb right beside me. To be able to go out side-by-side with him to the finish and be able to beat him, I’m just amazed at myself and I am so happy.
“Caleb is such a fast little guy and he is going to be the next Mark Cavendish for sure. To beat people like Caleb and Scott Sunderland in third and my old teammate AJ (Anthony Giacoppo) who came through in fourth was just a fantastic feeling.”
For Von Hoff, the win gives him the confidence to attack the season with renewed enthusiasm after being let down at the end of last year by his former WorldTour squad Garmin-Sharp. He was not offered a contract after the team was forced to merge with a rival, but was also left hanging for weeks before the team would tell him officially.
He then had to scramble to find a new home, which he did at NFTO, but it also meant a step down to Continental level.
But he is determined to get back to the WorldTour and hopes that this win will kickstart a new beginning for him. If he can carry last night’s form into Sunday’s national road race championship at Buninyong then more doors may open, at least in the short term.
“I want to have a good road race because I want to make the Tour Down Under (national) team,” explained Von Hoff. “If I don’t have a good one on Sunday then my season is pretty much done until March when my first race in Europe is. But if I have a good one on Sunday I can potentially do the Tour Down Under, The Herald-Sun Tour and the Cadel Evans race.”
And only one phrase would be necessary to describe Von Hoff’s feelings should all of that come to fruition: pure delightment!
The nationals continue tomorrow with the individual time trial on a tough out-and-back course at Buninyong.
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