San Luis Obispo, Calif. (Feb. 21, 2008) – Rock Racing, the smallest yet fiercest team at the Amgen Tour of California, finished the grueling seven-hour stage today with three of its riders in the top 15 and a team finish of fourth in today’s general classification.

Leading the Rock Racing trio, Rodriguez finished the day in seventh, behind stage winner Dominique Rollin (Toyota United) and runner up George Hincapie (Team High Road), while teammates Mario Cipollini and Doug Ollerenshaw placed 10th and 15th, respectively. Riding through driving rain and gusty winds for 135 miles along the usually picturesque central California coast, the Rock Racing team worked together to bring three of their riders into San Luis Obispo in the lead pack.

“Today was intense because of the weather, but as a team I think we fared pretty well,” said Rodriguez. “As we moved toward the finish, our plan was to lead out Cipo, and put him in a position to win. But, when we heard three guys were still out in front, we didn’t want to take any risks. Fourth is a good result for us, but we’re looking for a win.”

Cipollini agrees with his teammate about the brutal weather and its effect on their racing strategy. “The weather made any strategy today difficult. The goal was to arrive altogether for a sprint finish, but it was not possible. It was an incredibly tough situation.”

Heading into tomorrow’s time trial stage in Solvang, Rock Racing sprinter Victor Hugo Peña remains a contender for a top 10 finish in the overall standings.

“This is my specialty,” said Peña. “I came into cycling because I was good in time trials. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but I’m looking forward to it.”

The Rock Racing team remains the only squad in the race with a less than eight-rider roster following the decision by race organizers to exclude 2004 Olympic time trial gold medalist Tyler Hamilton, past world time trial champion Santiago Botero and former Tour de France “best young rider” winner Oscar Sevilla. Despite the team’s size and the illness that has been circulating throughout the peloton, the Rock Racing team remains strong and has scored top 10 finishes in three out of four stages.With only three stages remaining in the 650-mile race, Rock Racing is in12th place in the team standings.

— RRC —