Mystery surrounds the departure of Cycling New Zealand's sprint coach Anthony Peden.
He's guided the men's team sprint to three World Championships, a silver medal at the Rio Olympics, and back-to-back Commonwealth Games golds.
But the reasons behind his resignation have raised more questions than answers.
For five years, the New Zealand men's sprint team has been on top of the world, and Peden has been the man behind their success.
However the partnership's now come to an abrupt end, with Peden walking away just two years out from a shot at redemption in Toyko.
"It's just around how aligned we are on things, and [Peden] chose that we perhaps weren't aligned," said Cycling NZ CEO Andrew Matheson.
"His words, and so be it. We've got to push on."
Peden wouldn't return any calls following the announcement, but a Cycling NZ release confirming his departure offered a few hints.
"Peden said his all-encompassing approach is not aligned to that of Cycling New Zealand," said the statement.
What exactly does that mean?
"You'd probably have to ask [Peden] that," said Matheson.
"I guess there's some stuff I can talk about and there's some I can't, given there's an employment relationship between [Peden] and ourselves."
None of the New Zealand track cycling team responded to Newshub's requests for interview, and the general cycling community remains tight-lipped on Peden's departure.
Newshub understands others working for Cycling New Zealand were advised not to speak publicly, but the riders have spoken to the CEO as the search for his replacement begins.
"We've been working closely with particularly our top three riders Sam [Webster], Ethan [Mitchell] and Eddie [Dawkins] to make sure they are comfortable with the plans going forward and they are."
There's no doubt that whoever takes over from Peden will have big shoes to fill.
Newshub.
