One of the biggest days of Cameron Meyer's cycling career started in the sky and ended on cloud nine.
The 27-year-old completed Orica-GreenEDGE's domination of the Herald Sun Tour when he finished second on the fourth and final stage at Arthurs Seat.
While New Zealand rival Patrick Bevin (Avanti) beat him to the hilltop finish and improved from third to second overall, Meyer finished with the same time and preserved his overall lead.
The 2011 Tour Down Under champion became only the third rider, after fellow Australians Stuart O'Grady and Simon Gerrans, to win the two domestic tours.
Meyer and his five teammates had an unusual start to the day, with Orica-GreenEDGE owner Gerry Ryan using a helicopter to ferry them to the stage start.
They had stayed in the country town of Nagambie on Saturday night for a Jayco Tour sponsor's function and the flight saved them well over an hour on the road.
"I'm sure Gerry Ryan will look after us really well," Meyer said of their post-race celebrations.
"He looked after us on the flight over to Arthurs Seat this morning and I'm sure he'll look after us tonight."
Unlike the end of the 2011 Tour Down Under, where it was out of Meyer's control whether he would hold on for the win, this time he had much more say.
Meyer took the race lead by winning stage one, also ending a string of Orica-GreenEDGE near misses at the start of the season.
They then protected his four-second lead as their young gun Caleb Ewan also won the second and third stages.
On Sunday, Orica-GreenEDGE again played their cards to perfection.
Their defending race champion Simon Clarke finished third on the stage and fourth overall, despite his left side being covered in bandages after a stage-three crash.
The last stage featured three circuits of the steep Arthurs Seat climb, including a summit finish.
By the foot of the last climb, all the overall contenders were at the front of the race.
Bevin's teammate Joe Cooper faded to ninth and dropped from second to third overall, while Meyer's overall winning margin was 11 seconds.
"We were challenged alright - that was nearly a WorldTour bike race," Meyer said of the last stage.
"That was unbelievable.
"I've never experienced anything like that in the Herald Sun Tour.
"I really get a good satisfaction that I was able to be the strongest on the Bendigo stage and then second on Arthurs Seat to secure the win."
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