Tejay van Garderen was third overall in the Tour de France a year ago, just a handful of stages between him and a podium place in Paris, when he pulled to the side of the road and climbed into his team car.
A respiratory infection he had been fighting for days had forced him out of the race.
It was a bitter disappointment for van Garderen, who has twice finished fifth in cycling's marquee race, but also for American fans waiting for someone to step into the void left by Lance Armstrong.
Perhaps this is the year that finally happens.