October 12, 2007 – Canadian rider, Dominique Rollin (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.) will celebrate his 25th birthday on October 29th and this year he has more to celebrate than just getting another year older.

The Boucherville, Quebec native has had a stellar 2007 season winning back-to-back victories at the Jacksonville NRC and Roswell and Walterboro NRC USA crit series, three stage wins at the FBD Insurance Rás 2007 race, and 3rd place overall at the inaugural Tour of Missouri where he shared the podium with Tour de France veteran George Hincapie.

Rumour has it that Rollin has already signed a deal that will see him riding with American team Toyota-United for 2008, but no official release has been made by the team as of yet.

We spoke to Rollin just after he returned home from Stuttgart, Germany having competed for Canada at the 2007 Road World Championships.

So, the World Championships were tough for you. You, Svein [Tuft] and Cam [Evans] all pulled out before the end of the race. What happened there?
Dominique Rollin: The circuit was quite hard. I think a lot of guys were expecting an easier race and not many guys finished in the main bunch. It was a quick race for that type of circuit. And I think it’s a lack of racing that distance that made me not finish. It was only my second race above 250km this season.

I heard that you thought that you hadn’t eaten enough?
DR: Yeah, it’s hard to adjust yourself to eating enough on a hard race like this when you’re not used to it. Also, when you’re used to a certain type of food for the entire season and then you switch to the national team and get something different so you’re not used to what amount of food you have to take to last the distance.

And you guys had your bikes stolen!
DR: Actually, I got lucky. I showed up later.

[both laugh]

Were you surprised that Gerolsteiner stepped up to the plate to help you out with new bikes?
DR: Yes, that was amazing from them, but it was really an unfortunate situation for the Espoirs on the national team. I think they got about nine bikes stolen the night they drove into the hotel so it must have been someone around there or something because I guess they got there around 4:00pm and the next morning they just realized that everything was missing.

Luckily one of our coaches knew Gerolsteiner and went to them and asked for help and they just stepped up — as I think everyone would do in that kind of situation when you’re preparing for that kind of race.

Tell us a bit about the Tour of Missouri. You earned yourself a lot of new American fans standing up on that podium. How did it feel to be up there with a veteran like George Hincapie?
DR: A really great experience. Being able to show such good fitness on a hard stage race like this showed how far I’ve come. It showed the work that I’ve done this year with Brian Walton and Cadence Cycling. We just timed everything perfectly and we just made it happen. Just to able to stand up there with someone such as George Hincapie”¦

Shows you what level you’re at now”¦
DR: Yeah, it kind of surprised me what level I’m at now [laughs].

I know a lot of American cycling fans who are now asking me, “who is this guy?“
DR: That’s the same question everyone asked when I showed up on the circuit, “who the heck is this guy?” [laughs]

We managed this year, I think, to surprise a lot of guys because the team, on paper, wasn’t that strong, but as soon as we got everything together on Kodak Gallery we managed to step up and show that we weren’t afraid of the other teams.

I remember in one of the early Californian races, Toyota was leading the chase on the field to bring back a break that had like four or five minutes and no other team was going to step up and help them — not even Health Net — and we just put guys up there. We didn’t care, we just needed the experience, we knew we had to get ready because we’d have to do that this season, and it worked. The guys got together, they managed to help Toyota bring it back, and they saw that it’s not that hard. It’s easier than what we think. And as soon as you step up and take control, you gain respect.

And I think that this year for myself, and for the other guys on the team — unfortunately the team’s not happening anymore — we gained respect because we were part of the race and making the race hard, instead of just following.

So, what are your plans for next year? We hear rumours about a new team. Are you still talking to teams or have you made a decision?
DR: My deal is pretty closed, but I can’t talk about it yet. I don’t know when it’s going to go public but there will be an announcement soon enough.

But you’re happy about the move?
DR: Oh yeah.

Whatever team you’re with, what are your goals for next season or will your goal be just keep up what you’re doing — more podiums?
DR: Yeah, more podiums maybe. Something better in Philly week. Hopefully I’ll do Tour de Georgia and Tour of California so I’ll be able to step up in those races and get something out of there. Another Road World’s participation would be great, and I hope another podium in another big stage race in North America.

So, when does your season end?
DR: In two weeks, at the end of the Sun Tour.

And how much time do you get off?
DR: Two weeks.

That’s it?
DR: Yup. Especially if I want to do well in California. It’s an early race and I have to get in good mileage to be able to keep up with the pros — the Euros I should say.

Tour of California and Tour de Georgia are becoming really important races on the calendar now aren’t they?
DR: Oh yeah, every year they are just growing and growing. It’s great for North America but at the same time, it gets harder for small teams. They need big races like this for publicity and promoting their sponsors and then they’re just getting kicked off the race because they bring those Euro teams that just come for a vacation. Those big teams just sit at the back of the field and use it for training. When they could have had a team like us try to get a result and show ourselves out there every day like Slipstream did and like some other teams did. They showed up and managed to impress. But, that’s the business.

Every time I read a bio on you it says that you love to cook. Do you still find time to get into the kitchen?
DR: Yeah, I do, it’s quite hard but we got lucky because we were hosting for a couple of races this year so I got the chance to take over the kitchen.

Do you have a signature dish?
DR: I make a good risotto and a nice tuna burger with avocado.

Wow, sounds delicious! Thanks so much Dominique.
DR: Thank you as well.