A back injury forced Jesse Coyle to quit rowing and turn to cycling, but the 23-year-old already boasts a win against four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome.
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Coyle and Gina Ricardo beat miserable conditions and a field of more than 3000 riders to win the second L'Etape Australia at Jindabyne on Saturday.
His day was made even better by a triple crown, winning the yellow jersey as the overall winner, the white jersey for the fastest under-25s rider and the polka dot jersey for the king of the mountains.
Coyle, from Sydney, beat Froome across the line, although he did start well ahead of the 32-year-old superstar and Froome started at the back bunch for a social ride.
But the win will still give Coyle confidence as he prepares for a full season of cycling for the mobius Future Racing team on the national road series and in Europe next year.
"We were doing it a bit for fun, but we wanted a hard ride and to win it. We weren't attacking, but we were riding as hard as we could on the climbs," Coyle said.
"I've been racing for just over two years. I used to row at school and cycled a bit, but I stopped rowing because of a back injury and started cycling full-time.
"I had a bulging disc and I've got a bit of a messed-up back, so there were a few things going on. I'll be pretty much riding full-time next year which is going to be good."
L'Etape organisers modified the 157 kilometre course on Friday night when they were told to brace for more than 100 millimetres of rain on Saturday.
The event is supposed to mirror a stage of the Tour de France to give amateur riders a chance to join Froome for a rare experience.
But the course was cut to 103 kilometres to avoid areas subject to flooding and to minimise danger to riders.
Two-time Australian road champion and two-time Olympian Amanda Spratt won the women's polka dot jersey, while Ricardo was also the fastest female under-25 rider.
Some pulled out of the race before it started, opting not to risk injury on the slippery roads. But there were only minimal and minor incidents as Coyle took advantage of the shortened distance.
In the end Coyle was first across the line by two minutes, finishing the course in 2.48 hours.
"The extra climb that they took out wouldn't have been too fun, I was pretty tired," Coyle said.
"I would have held back a bit if it was the full distance ... Chris starts at the back so you're constantly looking over your shoulder looking to see if he's going to come past.
"You get a bit star struck, it's pretty cool seeing him in the flesh. It was another great day."
