Two years ago Dunedin's Brad Evans missed out on a maiden stage win in Te Anau on the Tour of Southland.
The 2015 edition, however, will see the PowerNet rider return to the lakeside town with the yellow jersey on his back, after he conquered Bluff Hill yesterday afternoon.
Evans, who also won the final stage of last year's race on Gala St, is excited about starting tomorrow's third stage from Riverton to Te Anau as the race leader.
''I'm ecstatic. It's great for PowerNet. We've had two from two now, with Roman [van Uden] winning yesterday,'' Evans said.
''This tour is so prestigious. I grew up in Dunedin, not too far away, always watching the tour and waiting for my turn until I'd be able to do it. It's a huge honour. This is the oldest bike race in New Zealand, so I'm very proud to wear [the yellow jersey].''
There was little respite for the peloton after challenging winds on Monday.
On a day as cold and grey as regret, persistent rain followed the race for much of the 155km stage from Invercargill to Winton, before the field hooked back through the city and out to the short but brutal climb up Bluff Hill.
A strong breakaway featuring riders from all of the major contending teams formed even as the race left Invercargill and managed to stay away, as the peloton showed little enthusiasm for the chase.
Leading by close to 10 minutes as the race approached the port town of Bluff, Fraser Gough (Avanti Racing Team) and United States rider Travis McCabe (Kia Motors-Ascot Park) slipped off the front of the break and attacked up Motupohue first.
McCabe was the early favourite for line honours, and Invercargill's Robert Huisman (PowerNet) was also going in search of a Southland stage win.
Evans, fresh from winning the Tour of Tasmania a month ago, attacked with 200m to go for his second stage win in Southland, beating runner-up Australian Robbie Hucker (Barry Stewart Builders) and third-placed Alexandra rider Liam Aitcheson (Creation Signs-L&M Group Ricoh) by 8sec.
''[Yesterday] was a really interesting day. I ended up going with the breakaway with a few guys, so we had to work quite hard before getting to the base of the hill, so that made it especially tough on everyone and especially in the conditions.
''[It] was very cold and wet, which made it a tough day all round,'' Evans said.
''I love the rain, I embrace it. It doesn't seem to affect me too much. I train in it back home in Dunedin and it's good for the team. We've got a lot of big guys in the team, so we excel when it's windy, and when it's hard.''
Evans starts stage three with a 19sec lead over Hucker and 2012 Southland winner Mike Northey (Kia Motors-Ascot Park) trails by 24sec.
Pre-race favourite Avanti Racing Team is in a challenging position for its title defence.
Joe Cooper is its highest ranked rider, 17th overall and more than seven minutes down on Evans.
With three riders in yesterday's break, PowerNet has taken a handy lead in the team classification.
The other big mover was Mosgiel's Joe Chapman (Creation Signs-L&M Group Ricoh), who has taken a commanding lead in the sprint ace classification.
Auckland's Nick Bain (Team Skoda Racing) leads the under-23 standings and is in seventh place overall.
Barry Stewart Builders' Nick Miller retained the King of the Mountains jersey, while Placemakers' Brent Allnut also kept the silver jersey for riders 40 and over.
Fraser Gough was rewarded with the most combative award.
