Up by nearly half a second with one lap to go, Canberra's Rebecca Wiasak thought Australia had team pursuit gold in the bag at the cycling world championships.
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But moments later you could have heard a pin drop in the Australian camp as Chloe Dygert staged a remarkable comeback to ride the United States to victory.
A thrilling battle saw the two sides trade the lead before Australia edged closer to a rainbow jersey with just 250 metres remaining.
But Dygert nudged the USA ahead on the final time check of the day (4:19.413) by just 0.4 of a second (4:19.830) in Hong Kong.
Wiasak was left heartbroken to get so close and leave seemingly empty-handed having watched on from the sidelines for the last couple of years, trying to break into Australia's top four.
The starter in all three rounds, Wiasak says coming home with silver only adds fuel to the fire as she looks towards the 2020 Olympic Games.
"I have to, if I want to continue to Tokyo, you have to justify your place in the program and your place in the team," Wiasak said.
"It's nice to have been given that opportunity with a couple of girls retiring and having a break from the track this season.
"I have to take every opportunity now, now that I'm getting a ride and getting on the track, to actually take that and make the most of that opportunity so that I can stay in the squad."
But Wiasak says complacency would be her worst enemy with plenty of opportunities for other riders to put their hand up looming over the next 12 months.
Five riders that got a taste of the training camp were left behind in Australia and are yet to taste the high pressure arena of national competition.
But coming soon are six World Cups, nationals, Oceania championships and a world championships - all leading into the Commonwealth Games.
"While it was disappointing last night, it keeps the fire in the belly because we didn't come here to get second," Wiasak said.
"Having said that, we're proud of the silver medal given the year we had last year. Definitely want rainbows in the teams pursuit at some point and disappointing to come so close, but it keeps you motivated to continue and keep going."
Dual-reigning world champion Wiasak has her fingers crossed her legs will recover in time for the individual pursuit which gets underway on Saturday night.
