Former Dunedin rider Greg Henderson's prospects of earning a long overdue ride in the Tour de France have never been better.
But then that is how he probably felt last year - and the year before that if truth be known.
The 34-year-old would likely have had a ride in the world's most celebrated cycling event had he not been in such strong teams over the past few years.
In 2009 he missed out with his former team Columbia-Highroad opting to go with a rider who could help out in the mountains.
Last year his form warranted a start again, this time for the powerful British Sky team, but the sprint specialist was overlooked for Canadian domestique Michael Barry.
The team strategy was to put more riders around Sky No 1 rider Briton Bradley Wiggins and forego contesting the sprint finishes.
That decision cost Henderson a place in the nine-man team. However, there is a school of thought the team blundered and it will look to contest more stages by including a sprinter this year.
Whether that rider is Henderson or not remains to be seen.
He has some stiff competition from the likes of Australian Chris Sutton and British rider Ben Swift.
However, Henderson is considered a very accomplished sprinter and has enhanced his prospects with some good results this season.
On the Tour Down Under in Australia in January he claimed a podium finish on stage six after leading out for Swift who went on to win the stage.
In March, Henderson won stage two of the Paris-Nice and he had a stint in the yellow jersey on the Tour of California where he won stage three and was third across the line in stage eight.
Henderson is racing in the Tour de Suisse, which is due to conclude on June 19, and could not be reached for comment yesterday. But he told VeloNation's Xylon van Eyck he was in the running for a spot in the Tour de France.
"From what I understand I am on the short list," he told the website.
"If I go to the Tour it won't be to support Brad in the mountains," he joked.
"I'll be going there to race to the line in the bunch sprints. Either taking EBH [Edvald Boasson Hagen] to 200m to go, or sprinting to the line myself.
"I'm also very handy in a TTT [team time trial] situation. I have raced team pursuits for 12 years so riding close on a wheel on a time trial bike is second nature to me."
Henderson's brother, Chris Henderson, said Greg was in the form of his life and the family was anxiously awaiting news of the team announcement which is expected "any day now".
