At 22, Dutch sprinter Moreno Hofland (Belkin) is enjoying a flying start to the 2014 season. Having ended his 2013 campaign with a dominant performance in the 2.HC-classified Tour of Hainan, at which he won three stages and was second in three more on his way to topping the overall and points classifications, Hofland has kicked on this year. A stage winner at the Ruta del Sol, the Dutchman was also second behind Tom Boonen at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and now has a maiden WorldTour win to his name too.
Belkin are using Paris-Nice to give their young riders a go, with Wilco Kelderman, also 22, leading the team. And Hofland has certainly seized the opportunity given to him. His first win is an important milestone and points to more to come – his sprint in Saint-Georges was well timed, and showed impressive power having led from the front and held off the challenge of both John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) and Bouhanni. It is far too early to speculate about Hofland’s future, but in the here and now he is definitely a man in form.
