Steele von Hoff feels underdone for an estimated 4000 metres of climbing in the Australian men's elite road race championship on Sunday. But then ...
The uncertainty - the unexpected - is what makes road racing so interesting. 
When von Hoff talks of opportunities to still win the 183.6 kilometre race at Buninyong in Victoria, his concerns about a lack of climbing kilometres in the legs start to dissipate.
The 28-year-old Victorian still has the credentials to talk of winning with his record of ninth last year, eighth in 2014, third in 2013, sixth in 2012 and 13th in 2011. Those string of near-misses, while frustrating, have fuelled his motivation to return each year with the hope of leaving with the Australian champion's jersey.
Now on the British ONE Pro Cycling team, von Hoff's doubts about coping with 18 laps of the hilly 10.2km Buninyong circuit are due to him having spent three weeks training with his team in southern Spain, rather than preparing for the titles as he has in the past. "I haven't done the sets that were set for me by my old coach, Mark Fenner," von Hoff said.
But despite that, von Hoff, the 2014 and 2015 national criterium champion known for a quick finish, does not shy away from speaking about how he might win the race in which he has only one teammate entered to help him - South Australian Glenn O'Shea. "I'm not complaining that it is hilly. If I can get around it in the front bunch ..." von Hoff said.
"[In 2014], we were eight seconds off from catching the breakaway [of eventual winner Simon Gerrans, Cadel Evans, Richie Porte and Cameron Meyer] at the top of the hill. But we started playing cat and mouse because there were only eight of us in our group. It sort of just got away.
"One day it might come back and I might be able to win the bunchy at the bottom. You have to be fast to be able to win it otherwise you have to win it solo."
Von Hoff realises if there is a group finish, Caleb Ewan from NSW and the Orica-GreenEDGE team will have much to say on the outcome.
While he beat Ewan to win last year's national criterium title, he believes Ewan is now much stronger - as the 21-year-old showed with his criterium title win on Wednesday. "Once again, Caleb will be the one to watch on this race because he [also] climbs so well," von Hoff said. "And he is just a year older and he was so close last year."