Rock Racing Goes 1,2,3,4 in Vuelta a Colombia prologue
(May 11, 2008)
Report Filed by
: Rock Racing Pro Cycling Team
Barrancabermeja, Santander, Colombia-Rock Racing sent shockwaves through the field at the 58th Vuelta a Colombia by sweeping the top four places in Saturday’s prologue.
Rock Racing’s Santiago Botero won the 5.2-mile (8.4 km) individual time trial in nine minutes and 53 seconds, leading teammates Victor Hugo Pena (seven seconds behind), Oscar Sevilla and Tyler Hamilton (both 14 seconds back).
Jose Castelblanco, the 2006 winner of the Vuelta a Colombia, finished fifth, 15 seconds behind.
On a day with 105-degree heat and 75 percent humidity, Botero averaged 31.3 miles an hour over a crowd-packed course that ran through the city Barrancabermeja, a port and oil-refining center on the Magdalena River in northeastern Columbia. Botero, the race’s defending champion, also won the prologue last year.
At the halfway point, Santiago was eight seconds down on Victor,�but from there on he took a couple of fast corners and on the final straightaway of 3.5kms he turned it on, Rock Racing Team Director Mariano Friedrick said.
Pena, who lives about an hour’s drive away from Saturday’s start in the city of Piedecuesta, said he was happy to be back racing in the Vuelta a Colombia for the first time in 10 years.
Fifteen teams including 12 from Colombia are participating in the 14-stage race that covers 1,237 miles (1991 km) over 15 days. Widely considered to be one of the most challenging stage races in the world because of its high-altitude race finishes, past Vuelta a Colombia champions include Tour de France stage winners Fabio Parra (1981, 1992), Luis Herrera (1984-86, 1988) and Oliverio Rincon (1989).
In addition to Botero, Pena, Sevilla and Hamilton, Rock Racing’s seven-rider squad includes Americans Jeremiah Wiscovitch, Adam Switters and Sergio Hernandez.
Sunday’s Stage 1 is a 91.2-mile (146.9 km) road race from Barrancabermeja to Bucaramanga.
- RRC -
ABOUT ROCK RACING:
Rock Racing is an eclectic team of powerful, world-class athletes who are redefining professional cycling through incredible teamwork and a flamboyant flair never before seen in the pro peloton. Created in 2007 and sponsored by Rock & Republic CEO and Head Designer Michael Ball, the team rapidly became a fan favorite through its thrilling racing action, cunning tactics and winning tradition. It also redefined the look of the pro cycling team uniform with jerseys and shorts that seemingly changed from race to race. In 2008, Rock Racing hits the road with a singular vision: to be the No. 1 cycling team in the United States. The team competes in UCI and USA Cycling-sanctioned races on both the road and track and will be represented at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Additionally, Rock Racing sponsors successful women’s and junior racing teams that are making headlines on a local level and paving the way for a bright future for the sport.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Katrina Florence, 310.995.3619 | katrina@teamelevation.com
Sean Weide, 402.541.2594 | sean@teamelevation.com
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