Steele Von Hoff, along with Matt Goss and Kristian House, is one of the marquee signings One Pro Cycling have made as they take a big step in 2016, becoming Britain’s only Pro Continental team. The Australian Criterium champion had a big start to 2015 racing at home and he tells CyclingQuotes that he is looking to repeat the trick for his new squad in 2015.

“Despite being my best start to the year ever, I would describe the rest of my season as pretty frustrating. When all your year is based around a couple of main races, and you crash out of one, then don't get the start of the second, it makes it for a pretty empty European season. So all I can do is look at it as a rest season to revive things for this coming year. So hopefully good results will come in 2016 with the fresh start!” he tells CyclingQuotes, speaking about his year with NFTO, where he surprisingly wasn't picked to start the Tour of Britain.

As he mentioned, Von Hoff was huge in January and February, successfully defending his Australian Crit championships title, taking ninth in the national road race and then podiuming two stages of the Herald Sun Tour. But his big moment came in stage four of the Tour Down Under, avoiding all the spills in the finishing straight to blast past the competition and take his first ever WorldTour win, the second of the week for the composite, Aussie national team at the race.

“They were my two biggest wins yet,” Von Hoff says of his two successes at home in early 2015. “The competition in the criterium was stronger than ever this year, so to be standing on the top step was a huge result for me. Then to win my first world tour race at Tour Down Under in front of the home crowd was a dream come true. It's my favourite race of the year, and to finally get a win there was an amazing feeling.”

 Von Hoff was speaking to CyclingQuotes just before the first One Pro cycling training camp came together and, as a consequence, he wasn’t sure what races his team would be riding, meaning he wasn’t sure what his 2016 goals are.

“I'm not quite sure what my goals are yet for 2016. Training camp for ONE Pro Cycling is just about to start, so things will be a lot clearer once we know more about our race starts. With our strong line up, and the new promotion to Pro Conti, hopefully we will start some big races which of course will be the target.”

Von Hoff did know that he would do some racing at home after his team was confirmed to start the Herald Sun Tour and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. selection for the national team at Down Under will be known later in the year.

“I do know that our team will be starting Herald sun tour and Cadels ride. So ONE Pro will defiantly be racing in Aus this year, which will be very cool! As for Tour Down Under, I will have to try and earn selection with the national team again.”

The fast finisher, who spent two years with Garmin-Sharp at WorldTour level before joining NFTO in 2015, told CyclingQuotes an interesting anecdote about why he decided to join One Pro Cycling. In reality, though, he was impressed with the team’s professionalism racing against them this season in their first year as a team.

“After looking down all year at this little one logo on my top tube of NFTO's felt F1 I was convinced it was a sign I was meant to move!” 

“Seriously, after watching the professionalism of the team this year and the drive to succeed and how well they worked together as a team, it was somewhere I could really see myself being happy.”