Four years ago, Glenn O’Shea made a decision that changed his destiny.

Glandular fever combined with a bout of chicken pox had left O’Shea pondering his cycling future.

He wasn’t training or racing to the same level that had made him a junior world champion and, at times, going out on the town with his mates was his number one priority rather than jumping on the bike.

In O’Shea’s words he was in his “comfort zone” and something had to give.

He had a choice to make.

He could stay in Bendigo, hang out with his mates and be a very good bike rider or he could follow his long-time coach Tim Decker to Adelaide, sacrifice time with family and friends and put everything into becoming an elite cyclist.

“I’d pretty much given up cycling, I was done,’’ O’Shea, 25, said in Bendigo this week.

“To get back I had to get out of my comfort zone and it was a pretty big decision to leave Bendigo and go to Adelaide.

“To leave my family and mates behind was tough, but as it’s turned out it’s the best decision I’ve made.

“You don’t realise what you’ve got until it’s gone.

“It hasn’t been that long, but what’s happened in the past three or four years makes it feel like a long time.

“I’ve packed a lot into that period of time.”

That is an understatement. O’Shea is a two-time world champion, Olympic silver medallist and a Commonwealth Games gold medallist.

Not bad for someone who was on the verge of giving the sport away.

“I’m not sure what I’d be doing if I had given cycling up,’’ O’Shea said.

“I tried selling cars a few years ago, but I was no good at that.

“After school I did get accepted into a PE teaching course, but I don’t know if I would have gone through with that.

“I’m pretty happy with the way this pathway has worked out.”

O’Shea said he wouldn’t have reached the level he has without the support of Decker.

Last month the former Bendigo-based cyclist and coach was named Cycling Australia’s international coach of the year.

“Tim doesn’t stop working, he goes well beyond his job description,’’ O’Shea said.

“I’ve never met someone who lives cycling like he does.

“I’ve never had another coach because what he does works for me.

“He is so passionate and it’s that passion he has that gets you to buy-in to what he’s doing.

“You can’t help but be excited by what he’s trying to do. You want to be part of it.”

Decker is recovering from a health scare of his own.

The 41-year-old underwent brain surgery last month to remove a blood clot.

In late September, Decker and O’Shea were on a training ride in Adelaide when the former crashed heavily.

 “Tim was right in front of me and I was doing 75kmh, so that shows how quick he was going,’’ O’Shea recalled.

“He crashed and hit the road really hard. At first we weren’t worried about his head because he had a bad wound on his arm. I could see the bone in his arm, so I had to rip my jersey off and wrap his arm up.

“It wasn’t until we were in Mexico at the World Cup that he started to complain of headaches.

“Tim didn’t think too much of it, but luckily his wife (Michelle) got him to go to the doctor back in Adelaide and everything got sorted out.

“It just shows you should listen to your wife.”

One thing O’Shea has learned in his cycling career is to take nothing for granted.

At the moment O’Shea is clearly in Australia’s best team pursuit squad and arguably our best omnium rider, but with a wave of young guns coming through the national ranks, he knows he has work hard to stay at the top.

 “I’m 25 now and I’m probably more than halfway through my senior career, so I have to make the most of it while I can,’’ he said.

 “Everyone peaks at a different time, but I think my best is still to come.

“In London (2012 Olympics) I was really good and at times since then I’ve reached the same level, but I can get better yet.

“Come Rio in 2016 I’m hoping to be at that next level.”