The young Portland based Land Rover – ORBEA; Benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation team nets first big win of the 2009 season

PORTLAND, Oregon; May 6, 2009– Roman van Uden, 20 year old youngster from Auckland, New Zealand wins the 23rd Annual SRAM Tour of the Gila Silver City Downtown Criterium. “This is a huge win for the young Land Rover-ORBEA squad," said cofounder Norrene Godfrey  “especially in our first year as a professional cycling team.” Land Rover-ORBEA has two core missions, raise funds and awareness for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and help develop young cycling athletes into the next generation professional athlete

.A big field, strong winds and tricky corners made it difficult for the men’s race around the 1.04-mile course that had 80 feet of climbing per lap. “I got into a good position, guys were riding pretty fast at the front, crashes took out Levi and a few other guys and I snuck through, so we had gaps forming behind. A rider shot through the front trying to get away a bit with half mile to go and then sat up and I snuck around him outside on the very last corner, he sort of opened a gap and it gave me enough room to take the win.” commented van Uden.
After the race, Lance Armstrong himself complimented the Land Rover-ORBEA squad on their professionalism both on and off the bike – as the team handed out LIVESTRONG wristbands to the crowd and to all the kids who participated in the kid’s event, further spreading the word and mission of the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Positive results today inspire confidence for tomorrow.  "Along with the stage win, the team continued to show aggressive racing by being represented in the major breaks and by learning to work cohesively as a team," continued Godfrey, "and it's great confidence boost as we go into the next races."

Next on the team’s schedule race schedule is the Joe Martin Stage Race in Fayetteville, Arkansas -May 7-10th where the young team will be looking to keep the winning streak alive. After Joe Martin,

the team will be leading a LIVESTRONG ride in Portland, Oregon on May 24th, racing TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship in Philadelphia June 7th and the Nature Valley Grand Prix in Minneapolis, Minnesota June 11th – 14th.

To learn more about the Land Rover-ORBEA cycling team please visit –www.landrover-orbea.com <http://www.landrover-orbea.com/>  or follow the team on face book -http://www.facebook.com/pages/Land-Rover-Orbea/61595708360