Snow, horizontal rain, hail and 75 keen cyclists all turned out in Outram at the weekend to contest the new Tour de Taieri, with James McCoy picking up the overall victory.
Riders in the inaugural tour battled the elements in the two-day tour, but most soldiered on throughout the event.
McCoy overcame the rough weather and a challenge from Michael Vink to take overall victory in the tour.
The two men battled for the lead throughout.
On stage one, Vink, McCoy and Mark Spessot attacked the category 1 field before Spessot crashed, a casualty of the conditions.
Vink and McCoy then pulled ahead and finished the first stage with a decisive 90-second lead which proved too much for the rest of the field to catch.
Nicholas Johansson rode smoothly all weekend, and his consistency led him to victory in the category 5 grade over John Mackay, who was only a few seconds back.
Liz Williamson beat her husband Martyn by a single second to take third place.
Sequoia Cooper dominated the women's race despite crashing.
She won by nearly two minutes over second-placed rider Emma Ferguson.
Under-19 men and women, junior and novice took part in the tour with races dominated by the eventual winners.
Sophie Williamson made it a family affair by winning the under-17 girls after leading from the opening stage.
Dylan Kennett, of Invercargill, dominated the under-17 boys race as did Conner Steads in the under-15 boys category.
Ashleigh Neave, in the under-19 women's race, broke away on the first stage and won the event by more than four minutes.
The pattern continued with Alex Frame dominating stage 1 around the same circuit to hold on to the overall under-19 men's win.
In the novice category, Josh Carpenter held on to a one-second lead to take the win.
