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Rock Racing (UCI Code: RR) was a
cycling team A cycling team is a group of cycle sport, cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle racing, bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important i ...
founded in 2007 by Michael Ball. The team is affiliated with Ball's Rock & Republic clothing line. Rock Racing received media attention for hiring outcasts in the sport, including those tainted by performance-enhancing drug scandals. The team's "bad boy image" was furthered by the design of the team kits, and its motto was "Here to stay" which may have served to incite the anti-doping efforts of the time. The team rides De Rosa and branded the DeRosa logo across some versions of their 2008 kits. Ball hoped his expertise in brand marketing will sell merchandise linked to the team.Men in Black (Outside Magazine, May 2008, p.6)
Other product sponsorships for 2008 included Stella Azzurra parts, LAS Helmets, and
Campagnolo Campagnolo is an Italian manufacturer of high-end bicycle components with headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. The components are organised as groupsets (gruppi), and are a near-complete collection of a bicycle's mechanical parts. Campagnolo's flagsh ...
components. The team's support vehicles were black Cadillac SUVs. After failing to secure a UCI Professional Continental license for 2010, the team brought in the government of the Spanish autonomous community of Murcia (who previously sponsored the now-defunct Contentpolis-Ampo) as a co-title sponsor. Although they planned to seek UCI Continental registration under a Mexican license, and signed
Floyd Landis Floyd Landis (born October 14, 1975) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He finished first at the 2006 Tour de France, and would have been the third non-European winner in the event's history, but was disqualified after test ...
to their roster. On 3 March 2010 it was announced that Rock Racing would not be awarded a professional licence of any form and as a result would race as an amateur team in the 2010 season: Landis had a clause in his contract allowing him to leave the team in the case of their not being granted professional status. After Floyd Landis was signed by the team he visited Ball's house wired by the FDA. The evidence found led to a search of Ball's residence.


2007 season

Directed by Frankie Andreu, with eleven riders with an average age of 28, the team included
Rahsaan Bahati Rahsaan Bahati (born February 13, 1982 in Lynwood, California) is an American racing cyclist who currently rides for his own cycling team, Bahati Foundation Elite Team. He previously raced for the SKLZ-Pista Palace cycling team. Formerly, he ro ...
, Mariano Friedick, Kayle Leogrande, David Clinger, and Jeremiah Wiscovitch, Rock Racing scored inaugural season victories at The CSC Invitational, The Chevron Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, and Best Sprinter Competition at The Redlands Bicycle Classic. Other results include a stage win at The Valley of the Sun Stage Race, and four stage wins at Wisconsin's Superweek.


2008 season

Directed by Mariano Friedick, and comprising 21 riders with an average age of 29, Rock Racing had to "come out of the gate swinging" being the center of a controversy before the 2008
Amgen Tour of California The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the only event on the t ...
when newly signed racers, Santiago Botero, Tyler Hamilton and Óscar Sevilla were not allowed to start due to the race organizers' policy banning convicted abusers of performance-enhancing drugs. Rock Racing's five remaining riders finished the seven-day race and scored seven top-10 finishes, including Cipollini's third in Sacramento on Stage 2. Ball had hired
Mario Cipollini Mario Cipollini (; born 22 March 1967), often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance (his first pro win came in 1988, his last in 2005; 170 pro ...
in early 2008 to race and replace Andreu as Director Sportif. On the eve of Milan–San Remo, which he won in 2002 only a few months before his first retirement, he announced he was going back into retirement. In April 2008, Rock Racing sued the
Tour de Georgia The Tour de Georgia was a U.S. professional road cycling stage race across the state of Georgia. The race began in 2003 and was contested six times until 2008. It was one of the three events in North America ranked as Hors Classe (2.HC) stage rac ...
regarding a berth in the race. A separate team withdrew, which opened a spot, avoiding legal action. The team scored four top-five finishes and placed Sevilla sixth overall. Also that month, an online poll by '' Bicycling Magazine'' showed that an overwhelming majority would be "rooting for" Rock Racing over other teams, some of which being the biggest in the sport. Major victories for 2008 included a team sweep in the prologue of June's Vuelta a Colombia, on the way to a Stage 7 victory by
Víctor Hugo Peña Víctor Hugo Peña Grisales (born July 10, 1974 in Bogotå) is a Colombian professional retired road racing cyclist. He last rode for the professional cycling team. In 2003, Peña became the first Colombian to wear the yellow jersey at the Tou ...
, and Stage 9 victory by Óscar Sevilla, who also won Commerce Bank
Reading Classic The Reading Classic was an annual bicycle road racing event held in Reading, Pennsylvania from 2006 to 2008. In its inaugural year, the 2006 Reading Classic was part of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling on the United States' Pro Cycling T ...
earlier that month. Of note, Sevilla also became the first non-Colombian in 48 years to win that nation's nine-day
RCN Classic RCN may refer to: * ''Radio Cadena Nacional (disambiguation)'', a broadcast network in Colombia ** RCN Radio ** RCN TV * RCN Corporation (formerly Residential Communications Network), a cable television, telephone, and Internet service provider in ...
in October. Tyler Hamilton won both the Tour of Qinghai Lake in July, and the USPRO Road Race Championship in September.
Rahsaan Bahati Rahsaan Bahati (born February 13, 1982 in Lynwood, California) is an American racing cyclist who currently rides for his own cycling team, Bahati Foundation Elite Team. He previously raced for the SKLZ-Pista Palace cycling team. Formerly, he ro ...
's USPRO Criterium Championship victory gave the team both the Road Race and Criterium National Champions for the United States. Bahati also won other major events such as Athens Twilight Criterium, Chevron Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, the Millikan Memorial Crit, as well as two stage wins during Wisconsin's Superweek on the way to becoming the second best sprinter in that series. During Santiago Botero's final season abroad he bookended his long career, by winning Stage 1 and placing 1st on the Final GC of
Redlands Bicycle Classic The Redlands Bicycle Classic is a cycling stage race located in Redlands, California, United States that has been held since 1985. It consists of three road races, an individual time trial and a criterium A criterium, or crit, is a bike race ...
. In a season of "firsts" for Botero, he also won the opening day of both Cascade Cycling Classic, and his native Vuelta a Colombia, which he won overall in 2007. Notably, he also finished 7th in the Elite Men's Road Race at the
Beijing Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
.
Fred Rodriguez Fred "Freddie" Rodriguez (born September 3, 1973) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. His nickname, ''Fast Freddie'', is due to his reputation as a sprint specialist. Rodriguez won the United States National Road Race Champi ...
had a 3rd place, podium finish at the
Philadelphia International Championship The Philadelphia International Championship was an annual bicycle race held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was described as "America's top international cycling classic, and one of the richest and most prestigious one day races outside of Euro ...
. For the amateur squad, Sterling Magnell had a breakout year, winning the Dana Point Criterium, Pro-Am 1/2 International Challenge during Downer's Grove weekend, and two stages of Wisconsin's Superweek while on his way to finishing 2nd in the GC. Australian track standout, Pete Dawson won the Sandy Springs Cycling Challenge which is included in the USAcrits Speedweek Series. He also won two stages in Wisconsin's Superweek as well as California's Red Trolley Classic Criterium. Eighteen-year-old Justin Williams finished 1st on Stage 3 of
Valley of the Sun Stage Race The Valley of the Sun Stage Race is a stage race, multi-day cycling race held in Phoenix, Arizona. The race takes annually in February and is contested over three days. Winners References External links

* Cycle races in the United States ...
and won the U-23 National Criterium Championship to give the 2008 team its third National Champion. The young "fast-tracker" also finished 3rd in the Millikan Memorial Crit and 4th in the Red Trolley Crit. Another "fast-tracking" young Rock Racer for 2008 was Jeremiah Wiscovitch who finished 2nd in the Red Trolley Crit.


2009 season

The 2009 offseason was marked by more significant changes. The team once again redesigned its kit and switched its bike to Kestrel's new RT800, 950 gram carbon frameset. Mr. Ball brought in notorious Director Sportif, Rudy Pevenage along with former Astana Director Laurenzo LaPage. Mr. Ball, in tandem with this move, incorporated Scott Analytics, to manage its anti-doping program. The company's president and founder, Paul Scott, is also the man behind previous anti-doping programs for Garmin–Chipotle, Team Columbia–High Road, and
BMC Racing Team CCC Pro Team () was a UCI WorldTeam co-owned and managed by American cyclist Jim Ochowicz, who founded the 7-Eleven Cycling Team. After its last title sponsor, CCC, a Polish shoe retailer, pulled out due to financial difficulties resulting from t ...
. New riders for 2009 included
Francisco Mancebo Francisco Mancebo PĂ©rez (born 9 March 1976) is a Spanish professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . He initially rode for team , but moved to in 2006. Mancebo is a stage race specialist, with good climbing and indiv ...
,
José Enrique Gutiérrez José Enrique Gutiérrez Cataluña (born 18 June 1974) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. His career highlights include second place overall at the 2006 Giro d'Italia, winning a stage of the Vuelta a España and two stages at ...
, Glen Chadwick, Chris Baldwin, David Vitoria, Caleb Manion, and IvĂĄn DomĂ­nguez. Dominguez later wound up signing elsewhere, only to eventually sign with Rock Racing in June. Conversely, Chris Baldwin signed with Rock Racing, eventually being released mid-season. 2003 Tour de France Points Classification Winner,
Baden Cooke Baden Cooke (born 12 October 1978) is an Australian retired professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2000 and 2013. Early life Born in Benalla, Victoria, Benalla, Victoria, Cooke began competitive cycling at 11. He comp ...
, also reported to have reached a verbal commitment, eventually signed with Vacansoleil of the Netherlands for 2009 during a period of uncertainty and scrutiny for Rock Racing. . In May, Michael Creed, Caesar Grajales and Chris Baldwin were released from the team due to a lack in performance. Grajales would rejoin the team and start Vuelta a Colombia. Creed and Baldwin joined
Team Type 1 With headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia (USA), Team Novo Nordisk () is the world’s first all -diabetes professional cycling team founded by CEO Phil Southerland and led by general manager Vassili Davidenko. The team's principal sponsor is the Da ...
, and OUCH Maxxis, respectively. Earlier in March, rider Tyler Hamilton tested positive for a banned substance. The doping scandal resulted in an eight-year ban and subsequent retirement from professional cycling. In June the team signed renowned Cuban sprinter, Iván Domínguez who had previously been with the UCI Pro Tour squad, Fuji–Servetto. In conjunction with this move,
Rahsaan Bahati Rahsaan Bahati (born February 13, 1982 in Lynwood, California) is an American racing cyclist who currently rides for his own cycling team, Bahati Foundation Elite Team. He previously raced for the SKLZ-Pista Palace cycling team. Formerly, he ro ...
was promoted back onto the Rock Racing pro squad in order to defend his 2008 US National Criterium Champion title during the
US National Criterium Championships The United States National Criterium Championships are held annually and run by the national governing body, USA Cycling. The event has formerly been held at venues including Denver, Colorado, Downers Grove, Illinois, and Glencoe, Illinois. The 201 ...
, as well as lend support to Dominguez. Bahati was controversially demoted to the amateur squad early in 2009 due to complications in the UCI language regarding roster size. That issue, among others contributed to the teams' rejection by the UCI in its application to become a Professional Continental Team for 2009. In addition to having too many riders on its pro squad, (17), the majority of Rock Racing is age 32, or older. UCI Continental Squads are required to maintain a majority of riders under the age of 28. Even further problems to the organizations professional objectives were the purported monthly salary and logistical financing delays. UCI Professional Continental Teams have a minimum annual gross salary of 27,500 euros (roughly 39,000.00), and 23,000 euros (roughly 34,000.00) for "neo-pro" (new pro) riders in the Professional Continental ranks. Despite the aforementioned roadblocks, the Continental squad as it stands has had numerous top results in 2009. The "Spanish realm" has been the teams stomping ground this season and so it could be viewed that if the team obtains UCI Pro Continental license in 2010 there is the potential for future invitations to races such as the Vuelta a España, one of the sports three Grand Tours. Results for 2009 include "Paco" Mancebo's stage 1 victory in the
Amgen Tour of California The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the only event on the t ...
as well as his Final Overall GC victory in Spain's Vuelta a Asturias in which he, Sevilla, and Chadwick also each won a stage. David Vitoria scored back-to-back wins in March's
Vuelta Mexico Telmex Vuelta Ciclista Mexico Telmex was an annual road cycling race in Mexico that took place over the course of eight days, involving eight stages. The Mexico national tour had a rich history dating back to the 1940s, and the latest incarnation was rev ...
on his way to his third place podium finish in the Final Overall GC. In addition, he also won the Overall Mountains Classification. Vitoria, along with the defending champion Glen Chadwick's fifth place overall, led the team to the Final Overall Team Classification at the Mexican national tour. At June's Vuelta a Colombia,
Víctor Hugo Peña Víctor Hugo Peña Grisales (born July 10, 1974 in Bogotå) is a Colombian professional retired road racing cyclist. He last rode for the professional cycling team. In 2003, Peña became the first Colombian to wear the yellow jersey at the Tou ...
and Glen Chadwick each won a stage, while Óscar Sevilla was on his way to taking home the Overall Points Classification for the event. Other top finishes include David Vitoria finishing fifth in the Commerce Bank
Philadelphia International Championship The Philadelphia International Championship was an annual bicycle race held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was described as "America's top international cycling classic, and one of the richest and most prestigious one day races outside of Euro ...
, as well as Óscar Sevilla finishing fourth in a bunch sprint among his notable countrymen
Ángel Vicioso Ángel Vicioso Arcos (born 13 April 1977) is a Spanish former road racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 1999 and 2017 for the , , Relax–GAM, LA–MSS, , and squads. Major results ;1999 : 6th Overall Vuelta a Asturias ;2000 : ...
and
David Arroyo David Arroyo Durán (born 7 January 1980) is a Spanish cyclist, who currently competes in mountain biking for the Primaflor–Mondraker–XSauce team. He is also a former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2001 and ...
at Spain's Vuelta a Rioja.


Charitable outreach

Rock Racing sponsored numerous races in 2008, including the
Amgen Tour of California The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the only event on the t ...
, the
Tour de Georgia The Tour de Georgia was a U.S. professional road cycling stage race across the state of Georgia. The race began in 2003 and was contested six times until 2008. It was one of the three events in North America ranked as Hors Classe (2.HC) stage rac ...
,
United States National Road Race Championships The United States National Professional Road Race Championships began in 1985. They are run by the governing body, USA Cycling. Until 2006 the race was open to all nationalities, the first American to finish being named the winner and given a di ...
in Greenville, South Carolina, the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling which includes the
Philadelphia International Championship The Philadelphia International Championship was an annual bicycle race held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was described as "America's top international cycling classic, and one of the richest and most prestigious one day races outside of Euro ...
, the 35th annual Skyscraper Harlem Cycling Classic, and the Chevron Manhattan Beach Grand Prix. The team also supported several charities. At the Tour of California, Rock The Cure donated $10,000 to a pair of after-school programs. At the Tour de Georgia, $250,000 was donated to the beneficiaries of the event, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and the Georgia Cancer Coalition. In an unprecedented move, Rock Racing announced on 6/3/2008, the creation of the "Professional Cycling Catastrophic Injury Fund", a charitable entity to raise money for professional and elite amateur cyclists who suffer a catastrophic injury as a result of their participation in the competitive sport of cycling.Professional Cycling Catastrophic Injury Fund (VeloBios.com)
"Rock Racing will make the initial contribution with a significant donation and will continue the fund's growth through direct monetary contributions as well as a percentage of its own sales. Ten percent of all Rock Racing on-line sales will benefit the fund as will 100 percent of proceeds from special Fund-branded products to be introduced later this year. The goal is to raise $20 million over the next two years."


2009 team roster


References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Cycling teams based in the United States Defunct cycling teams based in the United States Cycling teams established in 2007 Cycling teams disestablished in 2009