The Tour Down Under is a shot at redemption for Australian cycling star Cameron Meyer.
Minutes after Sunday's devastating near-miss at the national road championships, Meyer was looking ahead already to next week and Adelaide.
Meyer was the rider to beat with 2km left, but Michael Freiberg shot past him and Chris Harper for a stunning win.
Meyer will now will be part of a strong Mitchelton-Scott team at the Adelaide Tour that will support South African defending champion Daryl Impey.
"I sent (team director) Matt White a message straight after ... I said it's going to hurt me for 24 hours, but I'm ready for Tour Down Under and I can't wait to be there for Daryl," Meyer said on Thursday.
"We have a fantastic team, a lot of mates (and) Mathew Hayman's last race.
"I can't wait to go back.
"You move on, re-set your goals and my goal is now in Adelaide."
Hayman, the 2016 Paris-Roubaix champion, will retire after the Tour.
Impey's teammates in Adelaide are all Australian - Meyer, Hayman, Lucas Hamilton, Luke Durbridge and Michael Hepburn.
Meyer, who won the Tour Down Under in 2011, would have made Australian cycling history had he taken out Sunday's race.
He would have been the first rider to have won the Australian men's elite road race, time trial and criterium championships.
Meyer was distraught at the race presentation, having come so close.
"It was a very emotional 24 hours after the race - I put a lot of work into November/December and every rider who wants to win on that day, puts in a lot of work," he said.
"So it was just me as a person, showing how much it did mean to me and how close I was.
"I've won Tour Down Under and the Herald Sun Tour, the time trial nationals and the criterium nationals - I just really wanted it."
Meyer moved on quickly, taking third on Tuesday at the nationals time trial behind Durbridge, the suprirse winner, and world champion Rohan Dennis.
"It was Michael Freiberg's day, he rode a perfect race - I had to re-set and I was really happy to get on the (time trial) podium," Meyer said.
"If you stand on the podium with Luke Durbridge and Rohan Dennis, it shows a world-class field."
