Columbia-HTC team director Allan Peiper pulls up just short of calling the events of a year ago a "debacle".
But the point is made.
Peiper watched, first in gleeful anticipation and then in horror, as Peter McDonald rode brilliantly in the last two kilometres to win the men's elite road race at the Australian road cycling championships.
McDonald won a three-way sprint against two of Peiper's riders, Michael Rogers and Adam Hansen.
Peiper and Rogers will be back at Buninyong, near Ballarat on Sunday, craving redemption.
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McDonald will also return to the scene of his classic underdog win.
Not only was it two against one last year, but McDonald is a domestic pro, while Rogers and Hansen are ProTour big guns.
Moments after that amazing finish, Peiper pulled Rogers and Hansen to one side for a private "chat".
Hansen is not riding at the nationals this week, but Rogers is clearly determined to win the 163.2km road race over the testing Buninyong circuit.
He declared this week that he has "unfinished business" and also bypassed Wednesday's time trial, his signature event, to be fresh for the road race.
"I was pretty pleased to see that Mick was taking it so seriously, actually," said Peiper, a former Australian professional rider who competed in the Tour de France.
"I can see him playing a distinctive role on Sunday.
"Definitely (he has) something to straighten up after last year's ... I won't say 'debacle', but a disappointing result."
Peiper said he also discussed the finish with Rogers and Hansen a few weeks after the race.
But he added that sometimes it is good for stars to stuff up.
"I think, basically, they just mis-communicated and messed up," Peiper said.
"Two against one, there's no way the other should have won.
"We have a good team, good riders and they're sometimes put back in their box - they have to go back and re-assess, that's for sure."
Rogers will have good support again on Sunday, with Columbia team-mates Matt Goss and Leigh Howard also racing.
But they will be up against formidable opposition, with the race featuring stars such as Matt Lloyd, Robbie McEwen, Jack Bobridge, Cameron Meyer and Matt Wilson.
Peiper said he supports McEwen's call for the nationals to no longer be an open event.
There were reports a few weeks ago that Peiper wanted to enter some of his international Columbia riders in the race.
He says that was not quite the plan - Peiper only wanted them to ride in Thursday's criterium at the national titles.
Meanwhile, McEwen blew up and said the nationals should not be open to foreigners.
As it turned out, the international riders will not ride at the championships because of their contracts with next week's Tour Down Under in Adelaide.
"If you're asking me for my personal opinion, I agree with Robbie McEwen - it's an Australian championships, someone else shouldn't be able to ride," Peiper said.
"We've got enough to make a damned ProTour team if we wanted to, we have that many good riders."
