There have been no wins, as such, for Australia's elite cycling team in its fourth, and particularly brutal, Tour de France.
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But if Michael Matthews rolls into Paris on Sunday to complete his debut in the world's most iconic race on wheels, it will be counted among the small, but significant, victories.
Just days ago the gifted 24-year-old Canberran was on the brink of abandoning the 21-day marathon. And not for the first time.
Considered a strong chance for an early triumph, everything changed for the worse for Matthews and Orica-GreenEDGE in stage three.
The high-speed crash that saw a splattering of men moaning in pain on the roadside left Simon Gerrans and Daryl Impey no choice but to withdraw, nursing a broken wrist and fractured shoulder respectively. Matthews was only better off relatively given his prognosis of fractured ribs. To the professional eye this was considered banged up but not entirely broken.
Early on July 14, Fairfax Media witnessed how Matthews was still labouring off the bike. A 24-hour embedment with the team provided the insight.
It was eight days after the Tour's worst crash, but on the outskirts of Pau Matthews limped into breakfast at the team's hotel. He smiled hello but had that look of white-green sickness that often accompanies intense bodily pain.
Orica-GreenEDGE head directeur sportif Matt White admitted to Fairfax before the race's grand finale in Paris that there have been two occasions where he thought Matthews might be lost to this Tour.
The most recent occasion was just days ago, when Matthews fell dangerously off the pace of the race. This caused White to halt the team's lead convoy vehicle so he could talk his struggling young charge through the mental and physical test. Race radio, he surmised, would not do in the circumstances.
"It was the day it finished in Mendes. That was probably his roughest day," White recalled.
"It went straight up hill, the race split to pieces, and Michael was dropped alone. He was a long way back and I thought if he didn't get back quickly he would have been eliminated."
Responsible for guiding Orica-GreenEDGE, White gives the impression it hasn't been easy managing Matthews through the recent weeks.
The team boss preferred not to elaborate on his approach, but the sense is that there might have been some tough love involved. Still, it has clearly worked.
"I think Michael's got to this point in his career without having too many hurdles to overcome. I think this is a good one," White said.
"The big thing with ribs was how much pain he could tolerate. The restriction of breathing has been the big hurdle he's had to overcome. And every day, bar the first two days of the Tour."
White has seen riders push through worse; Orica-GreenEDGE's Svein Tuft is finishing this Tour in worse shape physically than his younger teammate. Overcoming a challenge like this should prove invaluable for Matthews, providing lessons he could be forgiven for not grasping fully until this Tour is won and done.
