Australian cyclist Brodie Chapman is on the verge of a stunning overall win in the inaugural women's Herald Sun Tour.
The 26-year-old, who works full time, was the upset winner of the 123.5km opening stage at Healesville.
The Kordamentha national team rider made a solo attack on Tuesday and beat Dutch star Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton Scott) by eight seconds.
A four-second time bonus means Chapman leads van Vleuten ahead of Wednesday's second and final stage, a 1.6km time trial at Southbank in Melbourne.
While van Vleuten is the world time trial champion, 12 seconds is probably enough for Chapman given the shortness of the stage.
Chapman broke away on a climb about 20km from the finish, prompting a frantic chase from van Vleuten as she tried to restrict the damage.
Australian Chloe Hosking (Ale Cipollini), who won Saturday's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, won the bunch sprint for third at a minute and two seconds behind Chapman.
Chapman's only challenger for the overall lead on Wednesday will be van Vleuten, with Hosking third overall at 1:03.
Chapman has enjoyed a strong Australian summer, finishing sixth at the national championships road race and 15th on Saturday.
She suffered a serious knee injury in a fall last year and then broke a collarbone when hit by a car.
"It is so good - victory tastes so sweet," she said.
"I had a rough 2017 and have been trying to get back on the bike and do something satisfying.
"Today was that day."
Chapman is the least-heralded member of the Kordamentha team, led by Olympian Katrin Garfoot.
The women's time trial will start at 4pm, followed by the prologue for the men's tour from 5.45pm over the same course and format.
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