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Still no 2010 licence for Rock Racing

By Susan Westemeyer

published 22 February 2010

Riders told chances of Continental status slim as team management lay low

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Oscar Sevilla (Rock Racing)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Oscar Sevilla (Rock Racing) celebrates in the leader's jersey with just one stage remaining.(Image credit: Wenceslao Rodriguez/ WRS IMAGENES)

Rock Racing still has no licence from the International Cycling Union (UCI) for 2010, with their hopes of registration as a Continental team apparently fading fast. Oscar Sevilla has said that he has not heard anything official from the team, and that team management are not answering their phones.

Sevilla and Peña cautious in commitment to Rock Racing

“I confirm the team Rock Racing has not been registered as a Continental team,” UCI spokesman Enrico Carpani told Cyclingnews Sunday afternoon

Sevilla, 33, told Colombian newspaper El Tiempo that he had received an email from Rock Racing saying “It appears that the team was refused [Continental registration by the UCI]". He has not heard further from the team.

"Nothing. No one speaks. I called Michael Ball, the team owner, but he does not answer his cell phone. In the end, it seems that we do not race with Rock Racing, but no one has confirmed the news or will tell us what will happen with the squad,” said Sevilla.

Last year, US-based Rock Racing had applied for a Professional Continental licence but were refused the second-tier status by the UCI. It then applied for a Continental licence as a Mexican-based team, but that too has apparently been rejected.

Earlier this month, Sevilla and Colombian rider Victor Hugo Peña signed conditional contracts with Rock Racing for the 2010 season that relied on the team securing Continental status from the UCI.

Sevilla, who has moved to Colombia, is now looking for a new employer. “It's not easy, since the season is underway.” He has contacts and possibilities, “but nothing confirmed. I would like to stay in Colombia and talk to the teams in that country, because I want to stay there because my wife is pregnant and being close to here is most important," he said.