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July 17, 2005
Big George! Hincapie takes Tour queen stage
George Hincapie took a brilliant stage win on the hardest day of the 2005 Tour de France, climbing away on the ascent of Pla d'Adet.
Hincapie, who has ridden with Lance Armstrong in each of his 6 consecutive Tour victories, got his first career stage win in 10 years riding the Tour. He got into a 14-man breakaway with an eye toward being up the road late in the stage to provide Armstrong with some help, and was able to take it easy in the break.
When the time came, and the climbers launched attacks to eliminate the break's remnants, Hincapie covered them all, and was left shadowing only Phonak's Oscar Pereiro with the finish line in sight. When Hink wound it up, Pereiro couldn't match the big man's finishing sprint.
Hincapie became the 8th American with a stage win, joining Greg Lemond, Davis Phinney, Jeff Pierce, Andy Hampsten, Lance Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton, and Dave Zabriskie.
Armstrong held position, finishing with Ivan Basso, and gaining time on every other GC threat.
Jan Ullrich lost 1:25 on Basso and Armstrong.
Top 10:
1) George Hincapie, Discovery Channel, in 6:06:38
2) Oscar Pereiro, Phonak, at :07
3) Pietro Caucchioli, Credit Agricole, at :37
4) Michael Boogerd, Rabobank, at :57
5) Laurent Brochard, Bouygues Telecom, at 2:19
6) Ivan Basso, CSC, at 5:03
7) Lance Armstrong, Discovery Channel, same time
8) Oscar Sevilla, T-Mobile, at 6:28
9) Jan Ullrich, T-Mobile, same time
10) Michael Rasmussen, Rabobank, at 6:31
Posted by Frank Steele on July 17, 2005 in George Hincapie, Oscar Pereiro, Stage results, Top Stories | Permalink
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» Hincapie wins mountain stage; Armstrong firm grasp on lead from Biking Bis - Bicycle Touring and More
US cyclist George Hincapie pulled off one of the most surprising moves of the Tour de France this year by winning Sunday's grueling 127-mile stage over six mounta... [Read More]
Tracked on Jul 17, 2005 1:16:50 PM
» Hincapie Wins the Queen Stage of the 2005 Tour from Operation Gadget
I haven't focused on stage results in covering the The Tour de France this year, but I wanted to salute George Hincapie who won his first ever Tour de France stage today at the summit of Pla d'Adet. As many... [Read More]
Tracked on Jul 18, 2005 4:15:02 AM
Comments
Congrats George!!
You earned it and you deserve it.
Be sure to sign the guest book at George's site:
http://www.georgehincapie.com/guestbook.php
Posted by: Devans at Jul 17, 2005 11:40:05 AM
CONGRATULATIONS GEORGE!
SEE YOU ARE A SPORT CLASS MAN NO.1
FAITFUL, DEDICATED....
I WISH YOU MORE AND MORE CIVTORIES AHEAD.......
Posted by: Mary Leon at Jul 17, 2005 12:04:39 PM
"When Armstrong wound it up, Pereiro couldn't match the big man's finishing sprint." We're more used to saying "Armstrong" than we realize!
Brilliant win, George!
Posted by: Freddy at Jul 17, 2005 12:35:53 PM
I agree with Freddy. We're too used to using Lance to carry our hopes and dreams. Please do George a favor and edit that so it reads properly. Thanks.
Posted by: Pat at Jul 17, 2005 12:42:26 PM
Done. I think Liggett cursed me when he called Hincapie Armstrong.
As penance, I'll post my up-close picture of Hincapie from the 1996 Olympics.
Posted by: Frank at Jul 17, 2005 12:50:04 PM
George, you rule! Totally proud of you, man!
I'm going to have to watch the replay of the show tonight...btw, Bob Roll still hasn't won anything. Darn it.
Posted by: voodoo at Jul 17, 2005 5:15:16 PM
It's great to see George get some long overdue acclaim and attention, but ... had the roles been reversed and a beloved American rider had towed someone else over 4 mountain passes, with the other guy refusing ever to take a pull, sitting on the whole day, then coming around at the end, we'd be howling and ripping the character of a rider who'd do that.
"But my guy is ahead of your guy on GC so I don't have to work with you" might wash if Pereiro had been a threat to Lance's GC standing, but he was not.
"I'd be just as happy if we're get caught by the chasers, because I'd rather have my team leader in that group contest the stage than me myself", disingenuous though it would have been, might have had some credibility over the 1st three climbs, but doesn't cover the final climb.
Sure Pereiro could and should have been more assertive in protecting his own interests. But this is a sport of unwritten rules, of class and sporting honor, where riders don't attack to win races while other suffer mechanical difficulties, or even from a crash (like Lance and Ullrich, and Ullrich and Lance), where it matters not just that you win, but how you win. Even in an otherwise meaningless weekend club race, a guy who pulled something like that would be shunned, or worse, wind up in a ditch the next race.
It's great to win. But it's important to win with class and good form.
Posted by: Anon at Jul 17, 2005 5:18:11 PM
Well, "Anon" said it a little more crassly than I might've chosen but it's what I was thinking as they were heading for the finish line.
Pereira worked his ass off today and has been working hard throughout this whole Tour. He certainly deserved the stage.
On the other hand, how can anyone begrudge George Hincapie his first Tour victory?
He was damned if he did (by Anon), and damned if he didn't (by Bruyneel and so many others).
Posted by: Rex Casteel at Jul 17, 2005 6:22:46 PM
Does anyone know the answer to this:
What is the highest percentage of riders from USA in the top 20? I'm going to have to get all my books out to check.
Right now, in GC, the country list shows:
USA 5 riders
ITA 3
DEN 1
GER 3
ESP 3
KAZ 2
FRA 1
AUS 1
UKR 1
If this holds out until the end, is one-quarter of the top 20 the highest the USA has had? I don't know. Also, it could be 30% of the top 10 (also higher than the other countries; poor France, it hasn't been a nice time recently for them).
Posted by: jerome at Jul 17, 2005 7:23:46 PM
To Anon and the other "honor" nuts... In a race the key is to win, if your opponent is dumb enough to lead out the whole race and let you tag till the end, so what. Pereiro always had two other options available to him, fall back or pull away from George.
I don't really care for Hincapie or Pereiro. I do respect a winner, and after the race I respect Hincapie a hell of a lot more than I do Pereiro.
Posted by: Thomas at Jul 17, 2005 10:02:48 PM
Correct.
Anyone who has been observing cycling for more than a few minutes should know that this kind of activity has occured since the first cycle race (sometime before I was born, I think). The awesome Miguel was a specialist at this kind of tactic. Oh, yeah, the word tactic is important. If a tactic is an activity (mental leading to physical) that you exercise to give yourself an advantage, then saying you will help pull on a climb, and then sitting on a wheel, is a pretty impressive tactic; that is, if it works. Obviously it did. European peloton experience wins again over whining.
Imagine if the sport was governed by "Gentlemenly Regulations" instead of tactics. You think it's boring now.
Posted by: jerome at Jul 17, 2005 10:38:20 PM
The way Hincapie won the 15th stage, he showed one thing: that he is a total disgrace. Then when he gets interviewed, he gets emotional and tries to mimic Totschnig. Hincapie, you do not even come close to a man like Totschnig or Pereiro......
Posted by: Stayer at Jul 18, 2005 6:21:08 AM
What the heck are your guys crying about (Jerome). Hincapie has been the unltimate team player for a long time. He has done his duty time & time again. Don't start crying because you think, (Think) he didn't work. He deserved the win, it was a great win, he used his brain.
Yea, Pereira did work his behind off, but for him to start crying to Hincapie to work, hoping that it would zap his energy for the final sprint was a crazy suggestion. Pereira knew he was beat, 5K from the line.
The bottom line is that, no one deserves to win, no matter how much they have worked, or how long, or how many years they have been riding in the Tour. Please let me know when they stop calling it a race. This isn't little league where they want everyone to play & everyone to win, no matter how good or bad they play, kumb bi yah lets give everybody a trophy.
Posted by: Will at Jul 18, 2005 9:12:02 AM
Pereiro is 140#, Hincapie is 175#.
If Pereiro wanted the win he should have dropped Hincapie on the climb. (And it's not as if the entire peloton hasn't been sucking Hincapie's wheel for 6 years.)
Posted by: Out4Blood at Jul 18, 2005 9:44:40 AM
This is racing. Even the unwritten rules of not attacking during a feed or if a leader crashes go out the door sometimes. If you've ever raced or watched racing for more than an hour, that this type of tactic goes on everyday. Credit where credit is due: George has been the perfect team rider, giving his FULL support to someone elses wins. His tactics today were perfect. He rode for the team. And being towed up a hill is not the same as being towed accross a flat or rolling stage. Even the great Eddy Merckx talks of using deceptive race tactics. While he's well known for his vicious attacks, he talks about (in one of his books) acting tired, not taking pulls, looking extra dirty and beat, to conserve energy to win the race.
If only the people who worked the whole stage get to win, then we'd never get a sprinter to win a race. It's not always about who is stongest through the day, but the rider who is the smartest gets the win. George made a tatical mistake at Paris-Roubaix (though I don't know what he could have done differently except maybe attack at 1k to go) that put him in second there. Yesterday he rode perfect.
I think every rider has been taken by this type of tactic, and has used this tactic. From the greats to the local club rides.
>quote/quote
Posted by: gundog99 at Jul 18, 2005 10:13:44 AM
Excellent and respectful argument on both sides. Personally, I loved to see Hincapie win and can forgive him the nature of it because of his years spent in the service of others.
Posted by: Mark R. Carver at Jul 18, 2005 1:45:15 PM
While i am happy that Hincapie won the stage, there is a black on him for not having doen his share of the pulling. He let Pereiro do all the work. It would have been proper for the last 3K for them to have shared and then let the "best man" win. Nonetheless congratulations to hincapie.
Posted by: giovanni at Jul 18, 2005 2:48:42 PM
In George's entire career riding the Tour this may have been his one and only chance to win a stage. And he does. And what does he get for it. A bunch of arm chair Monday morning quarterbacks pissing on his one moment.
Pereiro was neither strong enough to pull away from a bigger sprinter on the 6th climb of the day after almost six hours or riding, nor was he strong enough to out sprint George in the last couple hundred meters. Knowing if he pulled George he would lose the stage in the sprint, Pereiro pulled anyway. Nice tactic, way to use your brain.
If you want the stage win, drop the guy behind you who shouldn't be able to stay on your wheel on a climb. If you can't drop him, and you decide to "pull" him up the mountain, whatever the hell that means on that steep a grade on the final climb, then STFU when the sprinter beats you on a sprint.
Pereiro didn't deserve to win. He couldn't out climb a bigger man, he couldn't outsprint him either, and he certainly couldn't out fox or out think him. Why the hell should he have been given a "sporting" chance to be gifted a stage?
Posted by: Trée at Jul 18, 2005 3:25:22 PM
What does everyone mean by pulling when we're talking about a climb? It's not like there's a noticable draft to tuck behind. So what work is being done that should have been shared? Do these people even ride bikes? or is everyon just spouting off what the announcers and sports writers are putting out there? What's his face should have rode Hincapie off his wheel if he felt he should get the win. Oh wait... he wasn't strong enough. It's not like you can pull somone up a climb. You can pace someone, but if you're truely stronger you lift the pace and drop the guy.
Even if this was a flat stage, George won, hands down! Now I just hope he takes Paris-Roubaix next year.
Posted by: gundog99 at Jul 18, 2005 3:41:05 PM
Way to go George! How many times have we seen Robbie McEwen ride the wheel of Team Discovery Channel the entire race, just to sprint to the win at the las 100M. Hincapie was stronger and smarter. Pereiro couldn't have won even if George had taken a pull on the final climb and he new that. Way to go George!
Posted by: BHT at Jul 18, 2005 3:52:15 PM
It's good to see you win a stage after all these years George Congradulations ! I'm a little diappointed though on your tactics. I think that you tactic of hanging back and not pulling a few leads was as the Brits say "NOT ON ". Admittedly I have little experience in the "Big" races and I was just mediocre as a local rider, But I think you should look towards your leader and learn the art of sportsmanship. I met Lance years ago in the Tour of Gastown in Vancouver, B.C. and even in those early days he showed class and poise. Perhaps as the possible future laeder of team Discovery you should rethink your standards.
Still with all that said I'm a big fan of yours and I wish you great things in the future. Your time is coming to achieve great things. And good lauck !
Posted by: Roy Crabb at Jul 18, 2005 3:52:58 PM
Hey, sorry if I was misunderstood Will. George Hincapie is my favorite cyclist of all time. It's true. I've been following him in Velonews since he was 18. I was pacing around the living room getting emotional when he was in the last 3km, because I knew he was going to win it. That will go down as my personal favorite race to which I've ever been witness.
What I said (meant) in my note was "George Hincapie's" European peloton experience won out over "Pereiro's" whining. The complainers always come out after they lose.
We all know that George responded to all events and attacks during the race just like an Indurain would have.
I don't even care what happens in the Tour now, because one of the things I had secretly always dreamed of has come true.
I was just trying to respond to the complainers in an objective way about the truths of sport. (Secretly, Pereiro knows he blew it, too.) Will, I hope I didn't read you wrong.
Cheers to onw of the greatest teammates of all time, George Hincapie!
Posted by: jerome at Jul 18, 2005 4:49:05 PM
I raced for eight years on the national (USA) level, (retired in 1998), so I have some personal experience with racing. What people are saying about "honor" is true--you don't attack in a feed zone or after a crash, and you should take all your pulls in a break. But to this last "rule", there are exceptions. If you are "covering" a break for your team (as Mr. Hincapie was) everyone knows you have no obligation to pull. But that doesn't mean that the others won't try to make you pull!
I remember one race I was in a break of 5 including me, and three of the other four were from the same team--not good for me! I attacked on a climb and one rider caught my wheel and "covered" me, as she should. After a while I flicked my arm and then YELLED at her to come through, but she refused. Again, this was completely appropriate, but you can bet it pissed me off at the time-- I didn't want to pull her to the finish only to see her pop around me at the end for the win. I yelled at her several times, trying to guilt her into pulling, but to no avail. As it turned out I was strong enough to drop her on the next climb and won anyway, but it could have easily gone the other way.
My point is that racing is a TEAM sport first and foremost. That girl was covering a break for her team and appropriately did not work with me to drop her team mates. Mr. Hincapie is an excellent classics rider, and rides in support of Mr. Armstrong in the Tour. He was covering a break for his team, and if the peloton closed he could drop back to help Mr Armstrong if needed. Well, the peloton never closed the gap, so Mr. Hincapie was given the go-ahead to take the stage for the team. This is all absolutely appropriate, but it does well and truly SUCK to be the "other guy" (i.e. Mr Pereiro), stuck with some guy stapled to your wheel, knowing your only options are to try and drop him, or try to guilt him into pulling. It looked as if Mr. Pereiro tried both tactics, but failed. This pissed him off, but if roles were reversed he would have done the same thing.
As a former racer I realize the incredible set of circumstances that had to come together for a 6'3" , 185 pound support rider to win the toughest MOUNTAIN stage in the Tour. This is a once-in-a-lifetime career moment for him. He rode an excellent race, and he deserves to enjoy it. Congratulations George.
Posted by: Adrienne at Jul 18, 2005 6:59:22 PM
Hincapie may be the ultimate domestique and a great guy, but his win was tarnished by 80 miles of wheel sucking. Granted that it was his job at the time, and noknock there, but to take advantage at the end cheapens the win a bit IMHO.
Posted by: Jimmy D at Jul 19, 2005 1:26:45 AM
I personally have been a huge fan of 'Big George' ever since i started watching the TOUR.To say that George did not deserve to win is absolute rubbish.How many times have Big George,'checu' Rubierra & co helped Lance to win.
Posted by: Praveen at Jul 19, 2005 8:37:28 AM
