Stage 2

The plan was to stay hidden and save some energy and I successfully did this. The stage was cold and wet but I felt good most of the day. The peloton split up a bit in the cross winds and I was in the second group. We were never that far behind. Speed was fast coming into Bluff and I choose to stay out of trouble and not fight for position. There was a nasty crash at the bottom of the hill where a couple of riders went under a car. I climbed good and passed a few didn't walk at all. But it was steep and I was happy to get to the top. Hayden Rouston put in a solid performance to the the win and yellow jersey. He is definitively the strongest rider but that doesn't mean he will win. Today we have a split stage 50km in morning Riverton to Tuatapere then onto Te Anau 100km in afternoon.
Here is a couple of photos from my breakaway on stage 1