After all, the 32-year-old Dunedin cyclist has three king of the mountain titles to his name, so a steep 8km ascent to the finish ought to suit the veteran.
Actually, Chapman has a secret. He is looking forward to it about as much as he is the notorious climb up Bluff Hill or Blackmount Hill.
It is hard slog and Chapman much prefers the more ''moderate'' slopes where he can get into a good rhythm and power away.
''It [Coronet Peak] is a bit steep for me,'' he said.
''It is 8km up and it is a pretty gnarly wee climb. It is at the end of 180km, too. It is going to be one of the hard stages this year.''
Chapman has ''12 or 13'' tours under the belt and the event still holds a huge attraction.
''Being so close to it and growing up with it pretty much on my back door has made it the big attraction for the year.''
Chapman blitzed his opponents in the king of the mountain race last year. He finished with 44 points, 24 points clear of his two closest rivals, Clinton Avery (20) and Keiran Hambrook (20).
But there has been a change to the way the king of the mountain is structured this year. Previously, each hill sprint had the same number of points but this year the climbs have been ranked. Coronet Peak, Bluff Hill and Blackmount Hill are worth the most (10).
Asked if he was targeting a fourth title, Chapman said he never went into the tour aiming to win the polka dot jersey. If it is there to win again, he will chase it, but he has also never had a stage win and that remains a firm goal. He had a bad habit of tiring himself out on the uphill bits, he joked, and usually had nothing left for any sprint finishes or bridging the gap to breakaways.
''I've always wanted to win a stage and hopefully, one of these days, I'll get that, too.
''I've had too many seconds and thirds.''
Chapman said the talent was more evenly distributed this year and the tour was ''wide open''.
However, he believes defending champion Mike Northey and his Kiwivelo-Amstrong Prestige team will be tough to beat.
He also rates Joseph Cooper as a top contender. Cooper had bought his team over from Australia and had been riding well this year, Chapman said.
The tour starts tomorrow, with a 4.2km prologue around Queens Park in Invercargill.
Stage 4 shapes as the telling day. It is an exhausting 187km ride from Te Anau to Coronet Peak.
The Tour of Southland is a not a particularly hilly event, though, and some of the flat stages can be just as challenging. The weather is always a talking point and the wind, in particular, can be brutal.
Tour of Southland: The schedule
Tomorrow: Prologue, Queens Park, 4.2km
Monday: Stage 1, Invercargill to Gore, 167km
Tuesday: Stage 2, Invercargill to Bluff, 138km
Wednesday: Stage 3, Riverton to Te Anau, 150km
Thursday: Stage 4, Te Anau to Coronet Peak, 187km
Friday: Stage 5, Invercargill to Lumsden, 160km
Saturday: Stage 6, Individual time trial, 13km; Stage 7, Winton to Invercargill, 87km
