Photography by AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO and Wessel van Keuk/Cor Vos

Steele Von Hoff: “I was just a victim of the game”

Garmin-Sharp sprinter moves to NFTO for 2015

By Shane Stokes/Wade Wallace - December 12, 2014

Australian sprinter Steele Von Hoff has spoken of his frustration with having to drop down from the WorldTour, saying that he was left waiting for a long time before finding out he would not be retained by Garmin-Sharp and ultimately had to settle for a Continental ride.

However the 26 year old national criterium champion has said he is determined to seize opportunities with his new NFTO team and to try to follow the example set by Adam Blythe, who returned to the top level after a successful period with that squad.

Von Hoff has been with the Garmin-Sharp/Slipstream structure since 2012. He started his period there as part of the Chipotle-First Solar Development team and then became a stagiaire with the WorldTour squad. That translated into a fully fledged pro contract in 2013 and he competed for two years at that level.

With his contract up for renewal, Von Hoff said that he found himself in limbo in relation to receiving word about an extension.

“November came around and team camp was just on the horizon. I was still wondering if I was going or not,” he told CyclingTips.

The team is managed by former pro Jonathan Vaughters, but Von Hoff said that he only saw him twice in the past three years. As has been the case before with other riders from the team, he said that he had difficulty in getting a clear answer as to whether or not he would be kept.

“Andrew McQuaid [Von Hoff’s agent – ed.] sent a final email to Vaughters saying ‘Steele - yes or no.’ he explained. “JV had been playing me for the last few months, saying ‘yeah, we want him…it depends on Viviani and where he goes.’

“But then in August we knew he was going to Sky. JV still said that he needed another sponsor to have some more money. At the end of the day I just don’t think he wanted me but kept me within his reach, just in case.

“I put all my eggs in that basket this year by working for the team and not my own results.”

The scenario echoes that described by another Garmin-Sharp rider Phil Gaimon, who also found out very late that he wouldn’t be kept on board.

Under Article 9 of the CPA/AIGCP joint agreement, a clear regulation states that riders must be advised by a precise point in time whether or not they will be retained.

The wording is precise, unambiguous. “Before September 30 prior to the end of the contract, if the contract has not already been renewed, each party shall inform the other in writing of their intentions as regards any renewal of the contract. A copy of this document shall be sent to CPA [the riders’ association – ed.].

Asked if this was observed and followed, Von Hoff indicates that it wasn’t, although he said he was personally unaware of where the regulation was laid out.

“That’s meant to be the rule, but you tell me if you can find that in the UCI rulebook,” he said, clearly not having seen the UCI/AIGCP joint agreement. “I’ve looked and I just don’t see it. I think it’s the rumour, but I don’t think it’s actually down on paper. [note – it can be found here]

“I think it depends on which organisation you’re in. I think it’s a rule in Holland, but not in America. I don’t think there’s anything I can do. I was just a victim of the game.”

However the wording of the agreement doesn’t limit it to certain geographical regions.

Putting the delay in notifying riders to one side, one difficulty facing the team was the semi-merger between the Garmin-Sharp setup and the Cannondale organisation. The title sponsor and several riders moved across to the setup after the latter squad learned it would stop.

Von Hoff accepts that this made things more difficult in terms of available places. “A lot of riders who were cut from Garmin wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for the merger,” he said. “I think eight riders needed to be cut because of this.

“Out of a team of 28, eight is substantial. It’s just an unfortunate year and you need to do what you can to get back up for the next year.”

Simon Gerrans pips Andre Greipel and Steele von Hoff to take the win.

Stepping back to move forward:

Many riders and agents had hoped that Fernando Alonso’s planned FACT team would follow through on its stated ambition of having a squad up and running for 2015. The Formula One driver and those working with him gave repeated reassurances that the project would go ahead, giving riders cause for optimism. However that ultimately didn’t happen and this further constricted the market.

Von Hoff and McQuaid were forced to look elsewhere and ultimately had to settle for a smaller Continental squad.

“I was able to secure a contract with NFTO and it’ll give me an opportunity to get back up into the World Tour,” said Von Hoff. “They’re supportive of me still living in Girona and supportive of helping me get back up to the World Tour again, just like they did with Adam Blythe.

“I just want to replicate the good year I had in 2011 and try and win again. I need to get back into that routine of winning to get myself back into the top ranks. NFTO are fully supportive and are basing a team around me to try to get me some victories so I can step back up.”

The British-based squad will compete in far fewer international events than Garmin-Sharp, but Von Hoff’s protected status on the team will enable him to have greater personal opportunity. He will do the British criterium series but also get the chance to ride some races in Europe, some of which he has done in the past.

He’ll also likely ride the Tour of Britain, the Tour of Yorkshire and the Surrey Cycling Classic. The latter was won this season by Blythe, a result which enabled him to secure his Orica GreenEdge rider for 2015.

Von Hoff is clear of what his strengths are and how he should fit in. “I like being a sprinter,” he said. “Not a sprinter like Greipel and Cavendish though, but more like Matthews, Bouhanni…the guys who can get over a tough climb and sprint from a select bunch.

“Well, maybe not like Matthews,” he added, “because I can’t get up a cat two climb and still beat Cadel!”

Still, the point is clear. He took third on stage one of the Santos Tour Down Under this season and was also third on a stage of the Bayern Rundfahrt. Past results include victory in the 2013 Japan Cup criterium race and podium finishes on stages of the Tours of Poland and Britain. He likely would have achieved more had he not sacrificed chances helping other Garmin-Sharp riders.

At 26 years of age, he’s got further room for improvement and could continue to get quicker for another couple of seasons yet.

Because of that, he’s young enough to have a year at a lower level and to still have plenty of time on his side. He is determined to use the NFTO opportunity to show what he can do, and then to return to the top ranks of the sport.

“I love the opportunity to banging bars against the big names like Greipel, Cavendish and Kittel,” he said. “It was a really good feeling to sprint against them. Not even beating them, but just sprinting against them and catching up to them and knowing that I was within reach of being competitive.

“I went well at a few of the races I did. I podiumed against Greipel a couple times, and once against Cavendish - those were good memories.”

So too some of the events he did in the past. “For the atmosphere, my favourite race is the Tour Down Under. There is the hometown crowd cheering you on, and it’s also really laid back.

“For the racing, my favourite is the Japan Cup,” he said, referring to the racing weekend where he won the related criterium in 2013. “The atmosphere is fantastic, the circuit makes it quite a nice race, and the opening criterium the day before his just humongous. Japan has been good to me.”

Whether or not NFTO gets the chance to ride the Asian event in 2015, Von Hoff plans to return there in the future. If things go to plan, he’ll use the coming season to clock up wins, build up confidence and to prove to himself and others than he fully warrants a WorldTour berth once again.

If that happens, he won’t have to endure any delays in finding a team for 2016.

Tags: Garmin-Sharp, NFTO, Steele von Hoff

ed

All the best Steele. I remember meeting him at the 2010 Tour de Timor. Really nice guy. JV seems like a tool.
- jules
  
  JV has to select the best list he can afford. that’s inherently a brutal game. I wish Steele all the best, but at the end of the day - if you want to retain a contract you need to win or do more than the other contracted riders, or be cheaper i suppose.
  
  btw this is playing out nicely on twitter. (check JV tweets)
  - Nick Squillari
    
    You mean all the “yeah..but” that JV is serving up? At the end of the day, JV had a clear stipulation by the UCI to tell Steele what his fate was as of the 30th of September. No “but we’re trying to keep you, trying to raise more funds, etc”.
    
    It wasn’t done and JV is trying to pass that off as Steele’s failing - blaming his agent or any factor other than himself. He’s the boss and the rule is there to stop situations (and resultant articles) like this occurring in the first place.
    - jules
      
      but what practical difference is there between telling Steele his fate by that date, and not? if you don’t have confirmation of a contract by that date, it’s obvious that you are in doubt. as JV said, what’s he supposed to do - confirm no contract, just to be ‘safe’? is that really in Steele’s interests?
      
      presumably Steele’s agent was already seeking alternative arrangements. if he was relying on JV then he needs a new agent. in today’s tough market, he wasn’t able to get a WT contract. it’s a bit rough to focus the blame on his incumbent employer for that.
      - Rosco
        
        The practical difference is that MTN were still hiring by that date.
        
        jules
        
        then he should have gone to MTN. or back to Garmin with “i have no choice but to sign with MTN if you delay any longer - yes or no?” this isn’t unique to pro-cycling it’s how people negotiate for jobs.
        
        i hate to sound unsympathetic as I’m a fan of Steele’s too, but that doesn’t make the situation special.
        
        Arjen
        
        Of course it does, there is a simple rule, you have to stick to it. Cycling has more than enough people, organizations etc. who take a somewhat laissez-faire approach to the rule book.
        And here we have a team that claims to do it the right way. But at the end of the day, like this they’re no better than the rest: they break the rules.
        
        jules
        
        I suggest you look up JV on Twitter and read his replies to his critics on this. It’s quite illuminating. He claims that he provided Steele’s agent with ongoing information - prior to the deadline - that amounted to clarifying that he was unlikely to be able to retain Steele on the team, but that he would refrain from confirming that on the off-chance that circumstances changed so that he could.
        
        If that’s true, then it places into question the claim by Steele (or his agent) of “I wuz taken for a ride!”
        
        i don’t know all the facts, but I’d say there is enough evidence to conclude that there’s 2 sides to the story here.
        
        Guest
        
        JV is the king of spin. He has a gleaning online reputation but is one of the dodgiest guys in cycling. Ask him about the wages and bonuses he doesn’t pay.
        
        jules
        
        i wouldn’t know. can you substantiate any of that?
        
        Rosco
        
        Of course he cant substantiate it.
        
        Just go and have a read of Trent Lowe’s story. That one opens up your eyes to how Garmin treats their athletes.
        
        jules
        
        i have no doubt it’s brutal - pro cyclists are disposable commodities. i wouldn’t try and argue that point. but that seems to be the nature of the game. is there any evidence that teams like OGE are much better?
        
        riders switch teams a lot. the bitterness only seems to arise when a rider can’t get a contract with an equivalent-level team. i know I sound like an apologist for Garmin/JV but it doesn’t sound like they’ve done anything to block Steele from getting a contract with another team. he just couldn’t get one - that’s sad, but not entirely surprising in the current environment.
        
        http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
        
        Some patters we’ve seen before in Trent Lowe’s story: http://cyclingtips.com.au/2011/03/interview-with-trent-lowe/
        
        Arjen
        
        I have read them and even if they are true, it’s not good enough. There is a simple rule, Vaughters - of all people - has to stick to that.
        
        Really, cycling can very much do without the people who think it is okay to just stick to the rules that are convenient.
        
        guest
        
        A photo of JV as the AICP president signing the joint agreement with CPA president Gianni Bungo. This is the document with the Sept 30 rule that he helped negotiate:
        
        https://twitter.com/Vaughters/status/212949002314977281
        
        Nick Squillari
        
        Precisely. Steel clearly wanted to stay. He’s no idiot and his agent gets paid less for taking a smaller deal. Deadline day JV was required to say, one way or the other, what his fate was.
        
        Incredible that holding out on other deals in the hope you can carry on in one you enjoy, off the back of being fed misinformation, is being treated so harshly.
pedr09

Give ‘em hell Steele. You can get back to the top and win races there, not just compete. Believe in it man!
justanotheropinion

From our internet armchair positions with only these details, it is easy to come to many conclusions, though I am sure in reality it didn’t appear to play out in the way we read here. Steele sums it up best in that he was a “victim of the game” Though a good debriefing of why it played this way and did his agent do all he could ? who knows? and as was said it is a different end to the year for the WT peloton from the past decades. So maybe he did get the best deal from what was on offer. If we look at it he is still racing in europe getting experience in a different region and its racing style idiosyncrasies which would be different to returning to our NRS or heading to the US. Good luck to him, he has a team, a plan and now to make it move forward on a journey that many start but ends up shorter than his has already. Imagine the size of the AFL scrap heap?
PAUL R

good luck in your new team Steele,i think you have been the victim but i know that your be back at the top soon,”respect the Steele” i hope to see you down the mornington peninsula training over summer.
- Cynic
  
  JV has blathered his opinion all over Twittersphere like he always does. Right of reply is very facetious, when you consider his past history of dud ding people like this and just trying to spin his way out of it. Did he tell you how cool his sideburns and natty tweed jacket is?
  
  I am still laughing at his near half apology for being a doper. Years ago, probably after a couple too many wines (did he tell you the vintage?) he blabbed that he cheated, then rang back, denied it and that was the last of it. Whenever anyone calls him on it (and there’s only been 1 or 2) he squirms and pretends he came clean.
  
  Well done for running a (supposedly) clean team, well one that hasn’t had any current positives but a few murky ones in the past that may or may not have been with him, well done, in the same way I say well done to his very good buddy Lance Armstrong for his charity work.
  - Cynic
    
    Sorry, reply meant for post below.
alexroseinnes

would’ve been better had you guys given Vaughters the right of reply to SvH and his agent’s comments.
Cliff Nichols

He turned out for the SKCC Pro ride this morning…still in his Garmin kit and still generous with his time, despite all that’s happened just recently - I wish him all the best for this season and a quick return to the top table.
- Cynic
  
  Steele is the better man here, but JV would have used riding in non team kit against him as he’s done before.
Cd

Amazing that Steele is so clueless about the rules. Not exactly his fault though. His agent should be fired. Everyone who could read a web site knew a bunch of Garmin guys were getting squeezed by the merger.

Terrible reporting here where you don’t even reach out to JV for comment. Shameful.