Steve Hepburn catches up with him to find a man already well set on his new career.
Many sportsmen when they are about to hang up the boots, racquet or bike have no idea of what is going to happen next. But Greg Henderson knows what he wants to do.
You can feel the passion for the next step of his career in his voice.
Becoming a cycling coach and staying involved in the sport he loves is something Henderson is itching to do.
‘‘I've got a really strong passion for it [coaching]. I think I've just got a really good understanding about cycling and coaching,'' he said.
‘‘I've not only had 20 years of field experience but in all that time I've been surrounded by some of the sport's best. For two years with Sky racing, I had the likes of Brett Lancaster to work with.
‘‘I've always wanted to learn. I have been in Europe for 10 years and seen how things have changed. I've been like a sponge there. Doing lots of reading and research. Lapping it all up.
‘‘Just looking at all the different techniques ... talking to the young guys, and girls, just seeing what are your thresholds, what are your workloads. You just want to change those little things.
‘‘Take them on and make them a better bike rider. You become so invested in it.''
Henderson has already taken on about a dozen riders in the past year, and is already seeing some significant results.
The likes of Cromwell rider and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Tom Scully and young Marlborough rider Georgia Catterick have come under Henderson's tutelage already.
Australian Jack Bobridge is another who was being coached by Henderson.
He was talking to his team Lotto Soudal about an off-road role in coaching or performance management and talks had been positive.
But one should not put the cart before the horse. Or the coach before the rider.
Henderson still has at least one more year to go on the bike.
The former Commonwealth Games gold medallist has signed on with his team, Lotto Soudal, for another year and will be leading out for the team's sprint ace, Andre Greipel.
‘‘Next year [2016] may possibly be my last. My ultimate goal was to reach 40 and still compete to a decent level on the tour. I'm 40 in September so I would have achieved that.''
He feels he is still riding well and wants to make up for the disappointment of the Tour de France last year when he crashed out after a collision on a tour which was marred by many accidents.
Henderson ended up having to pull out of the race after a crash which left him with some nasty scrapes and cracked ribs.
‘‘It was not much fun, to be honest. I was up the front, as they say stay out in front, as that is the best way to stay out of trouble. I had a sprint coming up for Andre [Greipel], not a major sprint, and I was up the front and then it all happened.
‘‘It would have been all right except for the power pole. I crashed into that and it did the damage.
‘‘I tried to keep going but I was in so much pain. I tried and tried but it got to a point where I just could not even get up the front to try and lead out Greipel. I had to pull out.''
Henderson, however, did not end the season on that rather depressing note.
He got over his injuries and climbed back up to place 58th in the world road championships in Canada, under a minute behind winner Peter Sagan.
‘‘I was really happy with the way I went in Canada. I thought I rode really strong.''
Henderson arrived back in New Zealand a couple of days before Christmas and is staying at the family house in Bannockburn for a couple of weeks.
He has wife Katie, daughter Charlie (6) and son Lachie (3) with him.
But it is not all barbecues and beers. Chances are if you have seen a cyclist speeding around Central Otago in the past few days it is Henderson, putting some mileage on the clock. Five-hour training rides still have to be done.
The national road championships are in Napier on January 10, the last chance for Henderson to win a national title which has eluded him.
‘‘I've won the time trial and been second four times in the road race but I've never won it. Couple of times I've come up against team tactics and then a red-hot Hayden Roulston.
‘‘It has never really suited me. It's right at the start of the season. I'm building a base at the moment, getting a lot of kilometres in the legs.''
He will then head to Australia for the Tour Down Under and get back into the life of a professional cyclist once again.
One event he knows he will not be lining up for is the Olympic road race in Rio de Janeiro.‘‘That race is set up for a goat.
''Guys like Alberto Contador and Chris Froome. I've already been honest with the guys from Cycling New Zealand right from the start. I won't be there.''
