Successful Debut At Tour of New Caledonia For Paradice Investment Cycling Team

The Paradice Investment Cycling Team returned home late yesterday afternoon from the Air France Tour?of New?Caledonia after a successful debut at the event which included 2 stage wins, and 5 appearances on the podium. ? The 11 day, 13 stage tour began on the island of Mare two weeks ago, with Cameron Ivory and Chris Aitken finishing 6th and 7th respectively in the 5km prologue time trial. After two further flat stages on the small island, the race returned to the mainland for the first big climbing stage of the tour finishing at the summit of the Kouaoua Mea nickel mine. Cameron Ivory secured an 8th place finish at the summit, taking him to 10th place in the overall classification, where he would remain until the end of the race. ?However it was stage wins the team was hunting for, and after a good attempt by Chris Aitken in the breakaway on stage 4, it was stage 5 into the Provence Nord tribal area of Tribu de Ou?lisse where Cameron Ivory took line honors from the daylong breakaway right on the finish line. “The team committed to chasing after we descended off the big climb in the middle of the stage” Ivory said after the race. “They did a great job and other teams helped, coming into the finish we could see the leaders, there were 5 corners in the last kilometer so I just went with 500 to go and reached the break right at the finish line! It was a great feeling.” ?Ivory remained aggressive throughout the flat stage 6 and 7, however was heavily marked after his stage win and his threat to the overall general classification. He managed a 6th place finish on stage 7 after being in the breakaway throughout the day. Stage 8 would be a 9km individual time trial in the town of Bourail. After 7 hard days of racing, it was Samuel Layzell‘s day to strike. After some bad luck, and a few easy days in the peloton, Layzell sitting in last place overall was the first rider off for the time trial. He profited from the unpredictable blustery wind conditions to post a time of 11min 15sec, averaging nearly 48km/h on the flat course. His team-mate Mitchell Carrington would come into the finish 15 minutes later with the second best time of the day. The pair would remain at the top of the time sheets as the rain began to fall for the last few starters, which ensured their times would be hard to beat. “Yes we were lucky today in regard to the weather, however we have had more than our share of bad luck so far in this tour” Layzell said post stage. However he was quick to point out the result was down to a number of factors aligning to ensuring the best possible performance. “We did everything to maximize our chances today. I have done alot of spacific training for this stage, plus its been a very hard tour so far, especially for the leaders. They had a very tough stage yesterday and then again this morning, whereas I just cruised in not really having to push too hard. Mitch did the same thing too. We also have some of the best equipment here on tour, with a Focus Izalco Chrono TT bike and HED Stinger wheels.” With 3 days left the team remained aggressive, with Guy Brown picking up the most combative rider jersey on stage 9 after his aggression in the breakaway, and the team picking up a further 2 top ten placings on stage 9 & 10. ?The final stage would be a criterium along the esplanade of the capital Noumea. The stage was taken out by former professional cyclist Pierre Drancourt, with Cameron Ivory finishing on the podium in 3rd. ?The race overall was won by Theirry Shir of the Swiss under 23 national team. The young outfit dominating the race overall by controlling it from start to finish. “I’m very proud of our team” Layzell said post race. “It was the longest race we’ve all ever ridden, and the fact all five of us made it to the finish is a big achievement in itself. But to take two stages on top of that, and be the only team besides the Swiss to win two, its been a real success!”