The 23-year-old fought off strong challenges from Anton Cooper and fellow Southlander Matt Zenovich to take the spoils over the 96km circuit.
The mainly flat sealed road course takes riders from Cromwell around Lake Dunstan passing through Northburn, Tarras, Luggate and back down the Wanaka road to the Cromwell Sports Club.
Riders had to contend with a strong head wind which made conditions challenging towards the end.
Haggerty said the intensifying gusts on the home stretch separated many of the frontrunners.
"Everyone was riding together pretty well.
"There was two groups of 10 that had come together heading into Luggate. As we came downhill from Luggate there was only six of us left."
The Central Otago climate ensured it would not be smooth sailing for the field of 175 riders, although conditions were not dissimilar to what Haggerty and Tour of Southland champ Matt Zenovich have encountered.
"It was very similar to home," Haggerty said.
"It’s quite flat and this is the kind of wind we get down in [Invercargill]."
It was a narrow win for Haggerty, who finished in 2hr 24min. Hot on his tail were cross-country star Anton Cooper and Zenovich, who finished in 2hr 24min 5sec and 2hr 24min 6sec respectively.
Hannah Bartram, of Christchurch, was the women’s overall winner, finishing in a time of 2hr 32min.
Race director Bill Godsall said a few riders used the course as part of their training for the Coast to Coast event next month.
"It was a wake-up call for those riders.
"You always remember the hard races rather than the easy ones."
