Most of the attention was centred around World Tour rider Jack Bauer and the rapid progress champion rower Hamish Bond is making on the bike.
But hiding in the 83-strong field is the 2015 Tour of Southland champion and Evans is rather pleased he has not been picked up on the radar.
The 24-year-old is fresh from a "big block of training" and is keen to recapture the form that led to his success in Invercargill a year ago.
"I’m going pretty well [in training] at the moment. I haven’t had any races lately, so it is always a little hard. You don’t know exactly how you are going until the first race of the season."
The 170km course includes a hilly section but it is "still flat enough that people can catch up".
"Whilst the hills make for a hard race, the strongest rider should win. But there is still an element of luck in it, especially with New Zealand races, where you have a few combines and guys riding as teams.
"I’m Mr Solo from down here in Dunedin."
Oamaru rider Tim Rush has had a good season and shapes as a outside prospect. But Evans felt Bauer was the main threat and Bond was "the wild card".
"He clearly has a good aerobic capacity with all the years of rowing training. I absolutely would not be letting him get away up the road because he is a strong bugger and he would be hard to get back."
Evans signed a two-year development contract with Drapac in March and spent the year based in Belgium.
He tried to get clearance to defend his Tour of Southland but was required to race in the Tour of Hainan in China instead. He lined up for that race knowing his team had merged with Cannondale and he would be out of a job after the event.
Evans will return to Melbourne next year and ride for his old team, Pat’s Veg, again. It is a step down but Evans will get to race in the Herald Sun Tour in February.
"Team Sky is riding that with Chris Froome and there are a few big-name riders riding that, so that is a really good chance for me.
"I would have really loved to have stayed in the pro ranks but it is just hard. There are a couple of teams that have folded like Drapac, so it is always hard to find a gig.
"It was my first year and I was still learning the ropes and trying to get results at the same time.
"It was an awful lot to do in one season and I did well, but I didn’t have that real purple patch of form."
