It was never really a retirement, it's not quite a comeback and who knows what happens this year.
What Cameron Meyer knows for sure is that riding his bike has rarely felt this good.
The 29-year-old continued his outstanding form in Sunday's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road race.
Riding for the Korda Mentha national team, Meyer launched a bold solo attack with 600m left in the 174km race.
It just failed, with German Nikias Arndt and compatriot Simon Gerrans catching Meyer on the line.
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Such a near-miss would frustrate or even devastate a lot of riders, but Meyer was rapt.
"I'm ecstatic to be third in a WorldTour one-day race, to kick off the season like this," he said.
"I'm having a great summer, I'm really enjoying it."
Given what happened last year, it's no wonder Meyer is so happy.
He abruptly took a break from professional cycling in June and just as suddenly announced a return in October.
"It was just a break - everyone called it retirement and a comeback and everyone like that," he said.
"I knew I had more cycling left in me.
"It just took time, it just took a bit of a break - it took a bit of time away, which I hadn't had since I was 12.
"That was probably a bit of my downfall, not managing outside, off the bike."
Meyer initially returned on the track - he is a six-time world champion on the boards - but this month he has also starred in the composite national road team.
Made up mainly of developing riders, they won the teams category at the Tour Down Under.
They were the only non-WorldTour team in the field.
Sunday's result again showed that Meyer is back, but it remains to be seen what he does once the Australian season ends.
His immediate aims are next week's Herald Sun Tour and then the world track championships.
"That's the question everyone asks me actually at the moment and I don't think I have an exact answer," he said.
"I'm just taking it as it comes now.
"It might be a bit of national team stuff, it might be signing with a team, at the moment I'm just really enjoying it, getting back out there and having a crack.
