Bicycle .net :: Three Time’s A Charm For Rahsaan Bahati and Rock Racing at the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix

Three Time’s A Charm For Rahsaan Bahati and Rock Racing at the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix

By Cynthia Lou on June 29th, 2009

By Cynthia Lou

Manhattan Beach, CA – Rock Racing’s Rahsaan Bahati wins for the third year in a row, showcasing his and Rock Racing’s dominance in American NRC criterium racing. Rounding out the podium are Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) in second place and Ken Hanson (Team Type 1) in third place.

The 2009 Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, the 13th stop on the 2009 National Racing Calendar, showcased typically beautiful southern California weather in the 70s, with an ocean-breeze headwind on the back section and a slight tailwind after the second hairpin turn to the finish.

When asked if he was nervous or anxious about defending his title, Bahati answered simply, “I wasn’t nervous or scared. It’s what I like!”

With Bahati on-deck for a three-peat, the Rock Racing was sure to hold the race together. In the beginning the teams mostly watched each other, Bahati and teammate Ivan Dominguez scoping out the field from the back of the peloton. A mid-race crash shook things up, causing teams to launch attacks. Though many attacks were attempted, including a small group of approximately 8 riders that included Floyd Landis (OUCH/Maxxis), nothing held longer than a lap.

Naturally, Bahati was marked by the whole peloton, which became an advantage to other teams.

“We know that Bahati is the best American sprinter,” said Sebastian Alexandre, Directeur Sportif of Colavita/Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light. “We brought only two guys, and knew that Bahati was the guy to beat.”

“Sebastian [Haedo] is leading the NRC Individual [competition], and we are winning the team competition so we are very happy with how we’ve done.”

“We spent most of our bullets just trying to get to the last corner,” said Ken Hansen (Team Type 1). “Then I came to the last corner first, and it was a bit earlier than we wanted to but it was either that or not try to go for the win at all. I ran out of gas at 75 meters to go, but that’s how it is sometimes”

At home and surrounded by fans, Rock Racing and Bahati enjoyed a home town advantage with thousands of fans helping to encourage the race.

The Rock Racing Train

“It was perfect,” said Sergio Hernandez, Rock Racing teammate and Southern California native. “I didn’t feel a lot of pressure – we did what we came to do, and [the fans and family] around the course gave me all the power and energy to go out and ride hard for the team.”

The Pro Race Podium