Steely von Hoff takes Comm Games gold

Australia's Steele von Hoff has won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games men's road race just weeks after weeks after breaking four vertebrae,

Steele von Hoff takes the win. Source: Getty

The 30-year-old won the bunch sprint finish at the end of the 168.3km race after making his move in the final 100 metres.

Welshman Jonathan Mould won silver, and South African Clint Hendricks claimed the bronze.

Steele steals it! 🇦🇺 @Steelervh claims road race gold 🥇 in a sprint finish, just seven weeks removed from laying in hospital with four broken vertebrae. Unreal performance at #GC2018 #ShareTheDream pic.twitter.com/yon4TQ0OHz — 7CommGames (@7CommGames) April 14, 2018

After his high-speed crash in Melbourne in February just after the Commonwealth Games team was named, the last thing von Hoff was thinking about was making it to the Gold Coast.

"I wasn' t really thinking about it at the time, I just wanted to get better," he told the Seven Network.

He then started "spinning the legs over" on a recumbent bike and his thoughts changed.

"I thought 'I've still got seven weeks, I'm feeling alright'," he said.

"I was so close to not making the cut for the team ... I don't think I've absorbed it yet."