Bend, Ore. — It took Rock Racing nearly the entire race to chase down a four-man breakaway Saturday night at the Downtown Bend Criterium at the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic.

But once the catch was made, there was little doubt who would be the man of the moment.

Ivan Dominguez blazed down the long finishing stretch lined by a massive crowd to score Rock Racing’s second stage win. Alejandro Borrajo (Colavita-Sutter Homes presented by Cooking Light) finished second and Andrew Pinfold (OUCH presented by Maxxis) was third.

Rock Racing’s Oscar Sevilla, who won Stage 2 to take the overall lead, retained his yellow jersey, as there was no change in the overall standings.

The victory is Dominguez’s first since joining the Rock Racing team earlier last month. But he is no stranger to winning in Bend. Two years ago, the Cuban-born, U.S. citizen won this same stage (racing for the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team) in a field sprint.

“The last win that I had was in Georgia (at the Tour de Georgia in April of 2008), so this feels great,” Dominguez said. “I like this sprint. It’s long – the way I like. I knew if I went with 300 meters to go that no one was going to pass me.”

Dominguez’s fast finish would not have been possible without the help of his Rock Racing teammates, who worked tirelessly to keep Kirk Carlsen (Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin), Michael Creed (Team Type 1), Russ Langley (Battley Harley-Davidson) and Jackson Stewart (BMC Pro Cycling) from stealing the win. The four came within 15 seconds of catching the back of the field at one point.

But Rock Racing teamed up with OUCH presented by Maxxis and the two teams traded pulls to shave seconds off the advantage each time around the six-tenths-of-a-mile (1 km) course after the four riders’ lead peaked at 60 seconds with 35 minutes left in the 90-minute race.

“I said to the guys to keep the break there,” Dominguez said. “I told them we had to take care of the jersey. Tomorrow’s another day. We didn’t need to kill it. That was good for us.”

Sunday’s final stage is the 83-mile 133 km) Awbrey Butte Circuit Race. Sevilla leads Jeff Louder (BMC) by 40 seconds. Rock Racing’s Francisco Mancebo is in third, 1:00 back of Sevilla. A third rider from Rock Racing, Victor Hugo Peña, is seventh, 1:54 behind.

Ivan Dominguez of Rock Racing wins the Downtown Bend Criterium Saturday night at the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic.
Photo courtesy: Brian Hodes, VeloImages (www.veloimages.com).