Cam Ivory wins Tour of Tasmania prologue

On Wednesday he won the Tour of Tasmania prologue in the city for the fourth time having also won the Launceston Cycling Classic twice.

Moving here 12 months ago, he has since begun working as a project engineer with Shaw Contracting and continues to dominate races on the region's roads, claiming his latest win for a Tasmanian composite team.

"I'm pretty stoked with that because my form is not where I'd like coming in due to work commitments but I'm definitely happy to start the Tour off with a win," said the 30-year-old.

"I like these punchy hills, they suit my style coming from mountain biking. I've done five previous Tours of Tasmania but it's nice to call it my local event now."

Ivory is the undisputed king of Brisbane Street West after winning his fourth straight prologue on the 590-metre zigzag course.

He has now set himself the target of enjoying the leader's jersey for a bit longer as he builds towards road nationals in January.

"Every year I've won this stage I've then lost the jersey the next day," he said.

"We're just a Tasmanian composite team from Launceston and the North-West who were looking at entering individually. We've got a few good climbers so I want to help them out on general classification because I know I won't be there at the pointy end of the Tour."

Race director and Olympic track champion Scott McGrory heaped praise on Ivory, who finished three seconds ahead of his nearest challenger in the field of 71.

"He is incredible on this road," McGrory said. "Every year he comes and dominates and delivers the goods."

West Australian Brady Gilmore was Ivory's closest rival with Pro Racing Sunshine Coast teammate, Launceston's word championship silver medallist Hamish McKenzie, third.

"The second part was harder than I expected," admitted Gilmore, 21. "You just have to go as hard as you can because it's so short.

"It was fun for the first part then all of a sudden it gets you."

The Tasmanian composite team were hard to miss in a distinctive kit organised by Dalton Stretton.

Jacob Langham, also of Penguin, explained: "We sent a few messages to each other asking if we were keen to do it and it all came together. We all got the same jersey which Dalts organised and we call ourselves the Rainbow Paddle Pops."

The 27-year-old said the prologue never gets any easier. "It's always tough. I love it because it's over so quickly, but I dread it every time I see it. You've just got to give it everything and try and keep something for the end so you can finish it off because you can really die there."

Alex Lack had a blunter way of putting it. "It's a good, brutal way to start the race," he said. "You don't really pace it, you just go as hard as you can. I felt OK but the last third I was just hanging on as much as possible."

The 25-year-old former mountain bike world championship representative is also proud to wear the paddle pop colours.

"The Tour of Tasmania may as well have a team from Tasmania! The team came together pretty quick because we had a bunch of us keen to do it and it means we'll race as a team and support each other.

"I'm just doing it for fun really. It's nice to race in a big bunch, especially here in Tasmania."

Although based in Launceston, Lack hails from Wyena so is looking forward to Thursday's stage from George Town to Grindelwald. "They're all home roads for me out Lilydale way," he added.