Hoffman to put pedal to the metal

TO come out on top in the South African Omnium Track Cycling Championships at the Bellville Velodrome requires all-round speed and stamina, anything less is courting disaster for the cyclists.

Defending men’s champion Nolan Hoffman says the two days of racing will see the rider as “a jack of all trades and master of none”.

“You must be at your best in the six demanding events that make up the event over Wednesday and Thursday. You have to be scoring points in all of them to stand a chance of winning. Hard work and dedication en route is key. I’m feeling confident about launching a successful defence although my focus this past winter has been on road racing,” said the defending two-time Cape Town Cycle Tour winner.

“I’m more of a sprinter these days as a member of Team Abantu. But it’s nice to do an indoor track race, especially one as big as the Omnium.

“I’ll have a couple of days to think about things before the competition starts on Wednesday. Have to strategise, mull over who my main rivals will be and then, when the time comes, go out and execute my game plan and see where it takes me.

“I’m pretty revved up for it. I’ve done some tweaking to my speed work over the past weeks to start the process of getting to grips with what is required of one to be a serious contender.”

Hoffman, 30, a former Capetonian now residing in Gauteng (that’s where all the road racing action takes place), believes this year’s field is stronger than usual now that some of the big names of road racing are taking part.

“It’s going to be tough going on all fronts, my main rivals on the road will be gunning for glory and the local contingent can’t be discounted,” he said.

“It’s all about racking up points in each of the disciplines, and that’s going to be the way I conduct my affairs.”

Main threats to Hoffman are his teammate Morné van Niekerk, the current National Under-23 individual time trial champion, while Cape hopes rest with Sefen Ihlenfeldt (Team Lights By Linea) and Team Yorkshire Giant’s Evan Carstens and Theuns van der Bank.

The absence of Maroesjka Matthee in the women’s race due to a recent injury paves the way for a new champion to be crowned, the main contenders being Elfriede Wolfaardt (Western Cape), Ilze Bole and Carla Gianchino (Gauteng) and Ashleigh Parsons, the three-time junior national track champion.

The Omnium ( men and women) consists of a scratch race, individual pursuit, an elimination race, a time trial, a flying 250m and a points race.

Friday sees the highly competitive interprovincials taking place and WP men are the holders of the President’s Cup. They will be up against teams from KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng (runners-up in 2014), Free State and Eastern Cape competing in four energy sapping events – the team sprint, 4000m team pursuit, 1500m and the Elimination.

The final day event on Sunday is the grand prix. Jean Smith is the current defending champion in the match sprint, Keirin 1500m and 1km time trial.

OWEN LLOYD BEST DEFENCE: Nolan Hoffman holds off a chasing pack.