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Rock Racing names Tour of California squad

Published: Jan. 29, 2008
Leogrande is said to be the anonymous rider suing USADA over testing
Leogrande is said to be the anonymous rider suing USADA over testing
Photo: Casey B. Gibson

Rock Racing team owner Michael Ball named the upstart squad’s long team for the Amgen Tour of California and listed Kayle Leogrande, the rider said to be suing the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, VeloNews learned Monday.

Several media outlets attended the team’s official presentation Sunday afternoon at a pair of rented Malibu mansions where Rock Racing has held its training camp since mid-January. VeloNews did not attend the press event after being specifically disinvited from the presentation. Ball reportedly announced the names of six riders that are definitely attending the race as well as five riders competing for the final two spots.

Five riders guaranteed starting slots are former ProTour riders Victor Hugo Peña, Oscar Sevilla, Tyler Hamilton, Santiago Botero and Freddie Rodriguez. The sixth rider guaranteed a start is Leogrande. The 2006 national elite criterium champion made headlines over the weekend after several sources told VeloNews and the Associated Press that he is the “John Doe” suing USADA for testing his B sample from a 2007 Superweek event after his A sample tested negative.

Ball also named Adam Switters, Mike Creed, David Clinger, Rudy Napolitano and Doug Ollerenshaw as the five riders who will compete for the final spots on the Tour of California team.

Leogrande’s lawsuit, filed January 23 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims that by telling race organizers and the UCLA testing lab that the plaintiff is under investigation, USADA has damaged the cyclist’s reputation and ability to compete in races and secure sponsors.

Former Rock Racing team director Frankie Andreu told VeloNews that he had been “informed in November of an adverse analytical finding with Kayle’s test from Superweek” and that Leogrande was under USADA investigation.

“I then passed on that information to team management,” Andreu said. “But I honestly don't know who filed that lawsuit against USADA.”

By naming Leogrande to the California squad, Ball could be defying Tour of California organizer AEG, which last week announced a round of anti-doping initiatives for the 2008 event and proclaimed that it would seek to bar any rider with an open anti-doping case from competing. Sevilla, Botero and Hamilton have also been named in connection with the ongoing Operación Puerto case in Spain. However, none of those riders is currently under a publicly disclosed formal investigation.

On Tuesday, the team issued a prepared statement reaffirming "its deep commitment to the sport of cycling and racing clean."

"Rock Racing blends the tradition of stage racing with passion and flamboyance that will breathe new life into professional cycling," the statement noted.

“We are all about supporting professional cycling and bringing a new level of excitement to bike races,” the statement quoted Ball as saying. “To us, supporting professional cycling and supporting clean sport are one and the same. Racing fast, fair and clean is the bedrock philosophy of this team. This core philosophy will take us to victory at the Tour of California.”

USA Cycling CEO Steve Johnson said Tuesday that the review of rosters won't happen until at least next week.

"I haven’t seen any official rosters," he said. "The teams will submit their long teams to the race organizers, and the organizers will submit that to us. We will then query both the UCI and USADA as to what they consider to be open doping cases, answer yes or no, and will communicate back to the race organizer the status of anybody in question.

"It is AEG’s prerogative to not invite specific individuals. That way the can selectively prevent riders with open doping tests without penalizing an entire team"

Adding complexity to the mix is the fact that Rock Racing is a "founding sponsor" of this year’s Tour of California. The team is believed to have written a half-million dollar check to AEG for the sponsorship and a skybox at the Staples Center, which AEG owns.

Contacted by VeloNews on Tuesday evening, AEG spokesman Michael Roth declined to comment "on any specifics."

"Every team roster will be submitted to the UCI and USA Cycling this week and we will wait to hear back from them," he said. "I do want to say that it is not fair to accuse any rider without any firsthand knowledge. Of course we read what everyone else reads, but knowing that all these teams know our guidelines and procedures, there is no reason to believe that someone would ignore them. They know we are serious about our policy."

One name missing from Rock Racing’s California roster is that of Italian Mario Cipollini, who was believed to have signed with the team. However, several reports from camp have suggested that the Cipollini deal dissolved at the last minute.

Responding to inquiries about Cipollini’s status, Rock Racing representatives told VeloNews Friday that “The deal is still in the works and Cipo should be at the Tour of California in a few weeks.”

Team spokesperson Martine Charles confirmed with VeloNews that Leogrande had crashed over the weekend while training without a helmet, but denied that he was seriously injured.

“Kayle is fine,” Charles told VeloNews. “He had a few stitches and some road rash but he's back on the bike.”