The opening leg of the BDO Tour of Northland came down to the wire as nearly 300 riders made their way to Russell.
Roman van Uden held off a determined lead group to take line honours in 2h 35m 32sec, 2sec ahead of the trio of Josh Kuysten, Glen Carabine and Daniel Molyneux.
Meanwhile, Whangarei's Kurt Coetzee was the best finisher of the local riders, ending the day in 14th.
He and fellow Junior rider Alex Williams crossed the line in 2:42.30 in what shapes to be an exciting battle in their division.
Kurt Coetzee was in good spirits ahead of the most challenging day of the race, a 104km leg from Whangarei to Russell over hilly terrain.