March 29, 2004 – The Siemens Mobile cross country riders all competed in the second Liquigas Cup race of the season in Lucca. Even LA-based marathon racer, Tinker Juarez, who was in Europe for the team film and photo shoot, joined the race with his team mates. Roel Paulissen and Christoph Sauser finished second and third in the Elite respectively and Jaroslav Kulhavy finished second the Under 23s.

Paulissen lead for most of the race with Fredrik Kessiakoff racing close behind. Christoph started slowly but gained momentum lap by lap. Jaroslav rode a strong and steady race to finish second in the Under 23s and keep the leader's jersey. Tinker's aim was just to enjoy a race with his team mates on a course that was much shorter than his usual 12 or 24 hour tracks. The team objective is for the riders to be in peak form for the World Cups and Olympics mid-season and the results show they are on the right course.

Roel Paulissen: “I crashed 100m from the start at the first fast turn, but I sprinted up the first climb and pulled up to fifth. By the second lap I was in the lead and pushed the next two laps at my pace to drop Marco Bui and Yader Zoli. On the sixth lap Bui attacked but Zoli and I caught him again. Then at the end of lap six Zoli attacked and gained a 20-second lead and I couldn't catch him. It was a good course though and I had a good feeling in my legs.”

Christoph Sauser: “I am a slow starter at the moment and I build momentum slowly. I rode in about twentieh position at the beginning and pulled up places gradually lap by lap. On the last lap I overtook Bui for third. My aim is to get off quicker at the start, but this is a good pace for this time in the season.”

Tinker Juarez: “It's quite tough to race with jet lag, but it was good to come and race with the team. The loops on this track were very short and fast compared to my usual races but it was interesting all the same.”

Liquigas Cup
Lucca, Italy

XC Elite Men
1. Yader Zoli – KTM International Team
2. Roel Paulissen – Siemens Mobile/Cannondale MTB team
3. Christoph Sauser – Siemens Mobile/Cannondale MTB team
7. Fredrik Kessiakoff – Siemens Mobile/Cannondale MTB team
30. Tinker Juarez – Siemens Mobile/Cannondale MTB team

XC Under 23
1. Florian Vogel – Swiss Power Mountainbike Team
2. Jaroslav Kulhavy – Siemens Mobile/Cannondale MTB team
3. Moritz Milatz – On Tour Pro-Team