The confirmation of Michael Matthews' two-year contract extension was laden with meaning for the Australian cycling star and his team.
Given the 35-year-old suffered a life-threatening pulmonary embolism in June, forcing him out of the Tour de France and off his bike for several weeks, the new deal was affirmation that the health scare is behind him.
It is also a huge vote of confidence, given sports stars in their mid-30s usually operate on year-by-year contracts as retirement looms.
But the early-November announcement was also massive for Jayco AlUla. Australia's only WorldTour team, formed in 2012 as GreenEDGE, had come close to folding only a few days before because of financial problems.
There had been plenty of speculation earlier this year that Matthews would re-sign. That the deal was announced so soon after their money strife essentially was a statement that Jayco AlUla were still in the game.
"It was obviously a difficult period for everyone," Matthews told AAP of the weeks before the team's continued existence was confirmed.
"I was quite relaxed. My wife was quite stressed. But I had complete trust and belief in Brent and Gerry (team boss Brent Copeland and owner Gerry Ryan), that they would get this solved.
"Everyone I spoke to, I just told them to stay calm. In the end, it worked out."
"We all definitely got a bit of a wake-up call during this period. Hoping we can repay our sponsors and everyone involved with results in the next few years."
Matthews added the announcement was "quite good timing".
"It shows I still believe in the team and i still believe this team can be back at the top," he said.
"It shows the growth of this team, too - (we have) nine new riders.
"There's always room for improvement and I'm not done yet."
Indeed, Matthews was chuffed about an incident at a pre-season training camp, when he told a teammate his age.
"He was really surprised - he thought I was 31, 32. It was quite a compliment," he said.
"It's not necessarily the age, it's the motivation towards what you would like to still do in your career
"My motivation has never been higher.
"So nothing has really changed for me from 25 to 35 - I love riding my bike, I still love being in a team, my family is still super-supportive of my cycling career."
Matthews is the best-credentialed rider on the Jayco AlUla men's team, boasting stage wins at all three Grand Tours, the Tour de France green jersey and a string of podium finishes in the sport's top one-day races.
But there is plenty left to achieve. He wants the world road race title and thinks this year's event in Canada will be his last big chance.
If there is one race he wants to win above all, it is Milan-Sanremo.
Australians have had a complicated relationship with the race known as La Primavera, one of cycling's five one-day monuments .
Matt Goss was the first rider from this country to win in 2011 and Simon Gerrans backed up the next year.
But since then Caleb Ewan and Matthews have struggled to crack its code.
Matthews has come frustratingly close, narrowly missing out on the win last year, and has several top-10 finishes.
"I do believe I'm capable of doing it. It just needs to be the right circumstances," he said.
"It is possible. I'm not done yet."
