Canberra cyclist Nathan Haas has the Tour Down Under podium in his sights and would love to have Aussie legend Cadel Evans up there with him.
Haas finished fifth in last year's TDU and he feels a solid 2014 – when he won the Japan Cup for the second time – has him primed to come into contention in major races on the professional circuit.
Nathan Haas.
The 25-year-old will lead the Cannondale-Garmin team at the six-stage race, which starts near Adelaide on Tuesday.
Haas' sole focus is to finish in the top three, with everything else inconsequential, but he'd also like to see Evans up there with him.
It will be Evans' last TDU, with the BMC rider set to retire after the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Victoria on February 1.
"I want to be on the podium this year, I advanced a lot last season, had a few good wins and I think I can work up from fifth place last year and see what I can do," Haas said.
"From an Australian rider's perspective, it's always been pretty cool to have been able to say you've raced with Cadel.
"I hope for him he has a good race to give him the good sensations as he leaves the sport, too.
"He's no spring chicken but he's still got an incredible amount of ability in the legs – you saw him leading the Giro [d'Italia] for a large part of it last year and he won stages last year in America and in Italy.
"He's in good nick so he's going to be a big part of the race for sure and being on a podium with him would be awesome."
It's the start of a year when Haas wants to make his Tour de France debut. He has ridden two Giros and a Vuelta a Espana and now he wants to have every grand tour on his resume. And if he can impress over the coming months, he could find himself making his debut alongside fellow Canberran Michael Matthews.
They were meant to make their grand tour debut together at the Giro in 2013 but illness ruled Matthews out.
"I'm on the long list for the Tour de France this year, so everything's structured around July, which is great," Haas said.
"I've done the Giro twice and the Vuelta once and I've been progressing really nicely in all of those races.
"The team's certainly giving me the season I need to prepare for making the selection to the Tour."
His other main target are the Ardennes classics – the Amstel Gold Race, La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, as well as the Brabantse Pijl.
It will see him come up against Australia's cyclist of 2014, Simon Gerrans, who has finished third in the Amstel Gold three times over the past four years. It is a race the veteran is desperate to win.
Haas said he would love to see Gerrans win it but he also wants to be in the mix this year.
"Trying to get to the front of the race at the end of a race like the Amstel Gold to me is the height of heights of cycling and I should be hopefully leading the team again in Amstel," he said.
"I know it takes quite a few years to build up to those bigger, monumental classics to be right at the front at the end.
"Every year I'm getting closer and closer into the deep part of the final and hopefully this year I can actually be part of the sprint."