Sevilla Overcomes Mishap To Deliver Rock Racing A Win at SDSR TT
In his first race in the United States, Oscar Sevilla overcame a mechanical difficulty Friday to deliver Rock Racing an impressive victory at the San Dimas Stage Race. A shifting problem with his rear derailleur forced Sevilla to get off his bike and remount his chain in the final half-mile of the uphill Glendora Chevrolet Mountain Time Trial. Despite those troubles, Sevilla still bested runner-up Peter Stetina (VMG-Felt-RGM) by eight seconds and third-place finisher Ben Day (Toyota-United Pro Cycling) by 16 seconds.
Sevilla’s winning time of 13 minutes and five seconds on the twisting, 3.8-mile (6.1 km) course would have certainly been faster had he not had mechanical difficulties, Rock Racing Team Owner Michael Ball said. “He lost at least 35 seconds – or even more by having to stop,” Ball said. “To have him pull off this victory today is very gratifying. Our original track was to see Oscar at the top of the GC (general classification) at any given race, especially domestically. So we’re back on track.” “I was very nervous before the start, but I was motivated to do well today,” Sevilla said. “I haven’t been able to race in so long that I had a lot of butterflies.” Sevilla said his biggest concern was jet lag following a 10-hour flight Tuesday from Madrid to Los Angeles. “Last week I was feeling pretty good but with all the traveling, I didn’t know if I would have my racing legs today,” the 31-year-old said.
Rock Racing Team Director Mariano Friedick is now a familiar position – having to help defend the race lead. In 2006, he was racing in San Dimas in support of former Toyota-United teammate Heath Blackgrove, who won the race overall. “I know exactly what this race is like and I have complete faith in these guys,” Friedick said. Mara Abbott (High Road) won the women's race with a time of 15:27. Kim Anderson (High Road) finished second in 16:27 and ValueAct Capital's Leah Goldstein took third in 16:32.
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