Soon after Simon Clarke played a crucial role in Stevie Williams' Tour Down Under title, it was put to the Australian cyclist that it might be his turn next.
Clarke's smile in response strongly suggested the thought had not been lost on him.
Having finished third last year at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and second in 2015, the 37-year-old will be a rider to watch in Sunday's edition.
While his main role at Israel-Premier Tech is road captain - a job he executed to perfection last week as Welsh teammate Williams triumphed in the Tour - Clarke also knows how to win.
His most recent personal success was at the 2022 Tour de France, a few months after his career looked over when Clarke was out of contract.
After belatedly joining Israel-Premier Tech, he won stage five at the Tour.
Clarke's rejuvenation over the last couple of years is a well-told story, but the man himself prefers not to dwell on it.
"You get distracted about the direction you're going. Just keep moving forward, keep pushing, striving to be the best you can be," he said.
"Be a good teammate, and be a good influence on the other boys and guide them as well.
"I've realised I can have a big influence on my teammates, depending on how I look after them and motivate them - that motivates me a lot."
Israel-Premier Tech will boast one of the strongest lineups in Sunday's 176km race, with the tough finishing circuit in Geelong also suiting a rider of Williams' climbing prowess.
Winning the Tour Down Under was a massive boost to the team, which was relegated from the WorldTour a year ago.
"We had a bit of a setback getting relegated, but in hindsight it was the best thing that could have happened," Clarke said.
"We just reset, a bit of restructure, fresh motivation, got some great people involved - Sam Bewley, Daryl Impey.
"Look what you can achieve when you do things right.
"This doesn't come overnight - this is 12 months' (work) ... let's change our approach. This is a result of that, and hopefully more to come."
There are obvious outside stresses, given the team's strong Israel connections, and Clarke was the subject of protesters before the national championships road race earlier this month.
"We're just trying to focus on our own job," he said.
"All we can say is 'thank you' to our team for ensuring we're safe and we can go about our job.
"They've been doing a magnificent job of that."
The women's road race will be on Saturday and will feature a 143km course.
Australian Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) was runner-up last year and won in 2016.
Dutch rider Loes Adegeest will not defend her title, but her Danish FdJ-Suez teammate Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig is one of the favourites.
Top Australian team Jayco AlUla will have several options and their men's and women's teams will be primed for big results in Geelong after going winless at the Tour Down Under.
