The four-time champion is certainly the sentimental choice since announcing he would retire from the sport at the conclusion of the week-long event, which gets under way with the prologue in Invercargill tomorrow.
But Alexandra-based cyclist James Williamson is not planning on letting the Beijing silver and bronze medallist have it all his own way.
Williamson will lead a strong Creation Signs-L&M Group Ricoh (CLM) team which harbours its own lofty ambitions.
CLM has its own Olympian in Aaron Gate. He won bronze in the team pursuit at the London Olympics in 2012 and backed up the following year with a gold medal in omnium event at the world championships.
He shapes as CLM’s strongest contender in the general classification while team-mate James Fouche will be gunning for the under-23 title. The Aucklander won the junior road race at the Oceania Continental Championships in Bendigo earlier this year and is an exciting prospect.
The Chapman brothers Anthony and Timothy will lend support. They both live in Christchurch these days but hail from Mosgiel and still ride under that banner, while the hardy Guy Carter (Invercargill) completes the roster.
"It is exciting to have a pretty strong team again this year," Williamson said.
"I guess everyone gets pretty excited about the Tour of Southland and gets motivated. We’ll be trying to pull something out of the bag down there.
"We’ve definitely got some cards to play. And pretty much every year for the last five or six we’ve come away with a jersey of some sort and that is something we want to keep up."
The 27-year-old, who claimed the under-23 title in 2008, will be contesting the Tour for the fifth time and said it never gets any easier.
The wind, coupled with some tough climbs, is what makes the Tour of Southland so demanding.
Stage 3 from Mossburn to Coronet Peak and Stage 4 from Invercargill to Bluff Hill shape up as the defining stages again.
"Bluff is always a super hard stage but probably does not define the overall placings as much as Coronet. But because they have changed the order around, potentially one of the later stages like the Gore stage could be a real make-or-break day.
"It is super hilly around the back of Mataura and that is one of the last days of what will have been a pretty long week. You might see some pretty exciting racing on that day."
Williamson expects Roulston, who won the tour from 2006 to 2008 and again in 2010, will be very motivated to end his fine career on the winner’s platform.
"You have to watch him, definitely. But there are five to six teams who have genuine contenders.
"The guys from Mike Greer Homes have been super strong lately. Anyone in the Kia Motors team could be a danger and then there are the young guys like Liam Aitcheson, who won the Coronet stage last year."
The Mike Greer Homes team features Oamaru rider Tim Rush, who is fresh from winning the national cycling series. Aitcheson, who is also based in Alexandra, rides for Central Benchmakers-Willbike team which Williamson helped establish. He will be "secretly willing them on."
As far as his own prospects go, Williamson is realistic. He had surgery on an artery in his leg earlier in the year. It kept him off the bike for "a couple of months during the winter".
"But since then I’ve been able to enjoy riding a lot more because I haven’t had that issue. But I’m still on my way back, I guess."
Tour of Southland
The stages
Tomorrow: Prologue, 4.2km
Monday: Invercargill to Lumsden, 170km
Tuesday: Riverton to Te Anau, 148km
Wednesday: Mossburn to Coronet Peak, 140km
Thursday: Invercargill to Bluff, 148.5km
Friday: Invercargill to Gore. 151km
Saturday: Individual time trial, 13km & Winton to Invercargill, 78.5km
Three riders to watch
• Hayden Roulston claimed the sentimental favourite’s tag following the announcement he will retire from the sport at the conclusion of the Tour. He is also just the plain old favourite given he has won the race four times and boasts a fine career which includes winning silver and bronze medals on the track at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. It would be a shock not to see his name near or at the top of the general classification.
• Steve Lampier might not be that well known outside of cycling circles but the 32-year-old Englishman shapes as an outside contender. He is part of a formidable Kia Motors team which features the likes of Alex Frame, Taylor Gunman and Fraser Gough. He is originally from Cornwall where the region’s unyielding climbs are a pretty decent rehearsal for the Tour.
• Oamaru’s Tim Rush is in wonderful form having claimed overall victory in the recently concluded elite cycling series. He is a very good climber and that helps when you’ve got Coronet Peak and Bluff Hill to ascend on consecutive days. Mike Greer Homes is stacked with quality riders such as Michael Vink and Olympian Regan Gough, so Rush will be able to lean on some classy support.
