Cantabrian Alex Frame might have won the stage but Dunedin's Brad Evans held on to the yellow jersey in the Tour of Southland for another day.
The 23-year-old Powernet rider faces a tough haul up Coronet Peak today if he wants to keep it.
The stage has proved to be decisive in the past and Evans is only too aware Australian Robbie Hucker is right on his wheel.
With just 17sec separating them in the general classification, both riders will be keeping a close eye on each other.
Hucker is the more accomplished climber and Evans better known for his sprint finishes. But the young man from the Taieri is in wonderful form and powered up Bluff Hill for the stage win on Tuesday.
''Hucker is more of a climber and I'm more of a sprinter, so it is going to be really interesting to see what happens on the climb up Coronet Peak,'' Evans said.
''Traditionally, I'm not too good at it but I'm climbing well at the moment and am just going to have to do my best and either stay with Hucker or limit my losses.
''He is the main threat, but there are still plenty of others who are keen on upsetting the applecart, as well.
''I'm lucky that I've got a really strong team. But there's still a long way to go and we are only halfway. This race could turn on its head yet, but I'm ready and my team is ready.''
Evans and Hucker have extended their buffer over former winner Mike Northey. He is in third place but more than minute down on Evans.
Frame (Kia Motors-Ascot Park), who won the 150km stage from Riverton to Te Anau, was part of a strong group of Joe Cooper (Avanti Racing Team), Logan Griffin (Olivers Real Food Racing), Mike Cuming (Team Cromwell) and Matt Zenovich who broke away after the Longwoods hillclimb.
They led by more than 3min by Tuatapere, and more than 4min approaching the shadow of the Blackmount. And that is when things got really interesting.
With Cooper leading the charge over the climb, a bristling quartet of Evans, Tom Davison (Avanti Team Racing), Michael Vink (Team Mike Greer Homes) and Hucker (Barry Stewart Builders) set about chasing down the escapees.
Evans, determined to retain the race lead, was massive in the chase, and got great support from Vink, who has had some impressive moments in this year's race after a European season was ruined by glandular fever.
When the two leading groups came together just before Manapouri, Zenovich, who would go on to win the most combative award, took off on a flier, with dreams of repeating his stage win into Te Anau from 2013. But the final 20km was about Evans and Vink and Frame's strong final sprint along the Te Anau lakeside.
''We knew if we held it together, and no-one did any silly attacks, we would have a chance and it just played out that way,'' Frame said.
''I backed myself as the best sprinter in that group once it all came together so it was more just waiting for something to happen to ruin it.''
Mosgiel's Joe Chapman (Creation Signs-L&M Group Ricoh) continues to lead the sprint ace standings, while Nick Miller (Barry Stewart Builder) heads the King of the Mountain classification.
Nick Bain (Team Skoda Racing) is sixth overall and the leading under-23 rider, while Brent Allnut (Placemakers) heads the silver jersey for riders over 40 years.
PowerNet leads the team classification.
