Thanks to a favourable tail wind and team tactics, Lindsay crossed the line in a starter gun time of 2:20:53.8, followed by Louis Crosby 2:21:05.6 and Jared Holmes 2:21:06.1.
Lindsay, who was competing for the first time in the event, said he owed a lot of his win to his teammate Holmes, who made a break with 5km to go.
"It was me and Jared we were sort of playing it together a little bit," said Lindsay. "So he went off the front and as soon as the group caught him, I pretty much just went straight away, sort of tired them out a bit so I got a good gap."
The first Rotorua rider home was Ben McHale, who was fourth in a time of 2:21:06.3. The 28-year-old applauded the winning team's tactics.
"Unfortunately it wasn't my team. Once Sam got away it was pretty hard to chase with a couple of the other guys urging him on, to keep out there. So it made for a tough chase."
McHale said he enjoyed the reverse course which made it more of a tactical race.
"It was awesome, that definitely suits me a lot better. It was pretty fast at the start and we actually made a break in the first 5 or 10km, just out of Taupo.
"Once you hit the hills by Waiotapu, it was really quite nice. You got to open things up and it really favoured the climbers, the strength riders over the sprinters."
The Rotorua rider said he'd like to see the race alternate every year to give the race an extra edge. "It will give something for the sprinters and give something for the climbers. But I really do hope they keep that course because I loved it."
