Fred Rodriguez of Aqua y Sapone sprinted to victory in the Wachovia Cycling Series-Trenton race Thursday.   Rodriguez won with a time of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /?>03:00:03, just hundredths of a second ahead of second place finisher Gord Fraser of Health Net-Maxxis and a dozen other cyclists. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>

A crowd of 15,000 cheered the cyclists amidst perfect weather as they sped 91 miles on a 6.5-mile loop through the streets of
New Jersey ?s Capitol Complex.   It was the second event in the Wachovia Cycling Series, which culminates this Sunday (June 6) with the 20th Annual Wachovia USPRO Championship in
Philadelphia.  It was the 15th Annual New Jersey pro cycling event and the 12th in
Trenton.

Rodriguez, who also won
Trenton in 2000, edged Fraser and the rest of the group in a frantic sprint over the last 300 yards.   He is coming off a huge international accomplishment, winning a ninth stage of the Giro d?Italia this past May.   He finished third in the Wachovia Cycling Series-Lancaster race on Tuesday despite a stomach ailment. He is a two-time winner of the Wachovia USPRO Championship in
Philadelphia and a U.S. Olympic Team hopeful.

?My team did a good job of keeping me fresh through the race,? said Rodriguez, who is hoping to be selected for the USA Olympic Team heading to
Athens in August.   ?In the sprint, I tried to get the speed as high as I could and it worked.   My legs are strong.   I?m confident I can do well in
Philadelphia.?

A late two-man breakaway of John Lieswyn of Healthnet Maxxis and Rodoslaw Romanik of Hoop CCC Polstat was reeled in on the second to last lap and Rodriguez outgunned the peleton.   Lieswyn was the Sprint Champion for the second consecutive race (
Lancaster on Tuesday).   Lars Michaelsen of Team CSC finished third behind Rodriguez and Fraser.

The season-opening event of the Pro Cycling Tour on Tuesday in
Lancaster, PA, was won by Max Van Heeswijk of
Holland, a member of the U.S. Postal Service Team. However, with his win today, Rodriguez takes the lead in the 2004 Pro Cycling Tour Point Standings.