Rite Aid Update

Professional Cycling Team Wins Big after Eating Big at Cassis
[March 27, 2007] Diners at Cassis last Friday (March 23) stared in amazement
as plate after plate rushed to a table of incredibly skinny guys: steak,
calamari, salads, lamb, duck, pork, mussels, oysters, whole chickens,
platters of bread, and mounds of cinnamon ice cream. Even more amazing is
that those guys needed all those calories.
The table, it turns out, was full of riders from the Rite Aid Professional
Cycling Team, a US-based pro bike team registered with the Union Cycliste
International (UCI) in Geneva, Switzerland. The team had been holding a
training camp in the Shenandoah Valley and had come to Charlottesville for a
celebratory dinner (very likely to celebrate the end of the camp, in which
the cyclists did multiple 100-mile days in the Blue Ridge).
Cassis chef/owner Sean Lawford, himself a cyclist, was giddy at the sight of
the team van pulling up to the restaurant. "I've been a fan of the team for
a long time," Lawford reflects. "I'm just glad I got to cook for them
instead of having to ride up Wintergreen with them."
Two days later, the Rite Aid team concluded their training camp by racing in
the Jefferson Cup Road Race, an annual event that draws over 500 cyclists to
Albemarle County. Rite Aid's Alejandro Borrajo, a sprint specialist from
Argentina, pulled off the win in the 70-mile Pro-Am race.
The Rite Aid team will be back in Charlottesville on April 29 for the final
stage of the week-long Tour of Virginia. Though they claim not to be
superstitious, they've already made reservations at the restaurant.
Cassis (www.cassisrestaurant.com) is located in Charlottesville, Virginia at
210 West Water Street; media inquiries can be directed to
chef@cassisbistro.com or (434)979-0188. Media inquiries for the Rite Aid
Professional Cycling Team (www.riteaidprocycling.com ) can be directed to
610.971.9940.