George Hincapie

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George Hincapie
Hincapie, George - 2007.jpg
Hincapie at the 2007 Tour of California.
Personal information
Full name George Hincapie
Born (1973-06-29) June 29, 1973 (age 39)
Queens, New York, USA
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 79 kg (170 lb; 12.4 st)
Team information
Current team Retired
Discipline Road
Role Rider
Rider type Classics specialist/ Climbing Domestique
Professional team(s)
1994–1996
1997–2007
2008–2009
2010–2012		 Motorola
US Postal
Team High Road
BMC Racing Team
Major wins

Grand Tours

Tour de France
1 Stage - TTT (2002)

Stage races

Tour of Missouri (2007)

One-day races and Classics

National Road Race Champion
(1998, 2006, 2009)
Gent–Wevelgem (2001)

Infobox last updated on
January 18, 2013

George Hincapie (born June 29, 1973) is an American retired road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 1994 and 2012.[1] Hincapie is well known as a key domestique of Lance Armstrong, having been the only rider to assist Armstrong in all seven of his Tour de France victories. Hincapie was also a domestique for Alberto Contador in 2007 and for Cadel Evans in 2011, when both men won the Tour de France. He is one of only two riders in Tour de France history to have raced on nine Tour-winning teams.[2] Hincapie completed his 16th (but he was DQed in 3 of these) and final Tour in 2012, which ties Joop Zoetemelk's record. Hincapie has started a record 17 Tours, having only failed to finish his first one in 1996.[3]

On October 10, 2012, Hincapie released a statement on his website acknowledging the use of performance-enhancing drugs and confirming that he had been approached by US Federal Investigators and USADA with regard to his experiences with doping.[4] Later that day a statement was released confirming his acceptance of a six-month ban from September 1, 2012, ending on March 1, 2013, along with a stripping of all race results between May 31, 2004, and July 31, 2006.[5]

Contents

Early life [edit]

Hincapie was born in Queens, New York, USA. His father Ricardo, a Colombian, introduced him to cycling, and his first race training was in New York City's Central Park. In 2004, Hincapie, along with his brother Richard launched their own line of sportswear, called Hincapie Sports.[6] He is married to former runway model and Tour de France podium girl Melanie Simonneau,[7] and they have two children, daughter Julia Paris (born on November 3, 2004) and son Enzo (born on June 20, 2008). Hincapie resides in Greenville, South Carolina. He graduated from Farmingdale High School in 1991.

Cycling career [edit]

George Hincapie in the Prologue of the 2008 Tour of California

Hincapie has several important wins of his own, starting with Gent–Wevelgem in 2001 and Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne in 2005. Also in 2005, Hincapie took two stage wins at the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré and 2nd place at Paris–Roubaix. In 2005 he had his first stage win in the Tour de France where, on July 17, he finished seven seconds ahead of Óscar Pereiro to win Stage 15 from Lézat-sur-Lèze to Pla d'Adet. More recent victories include two stages at the Tour of California (2006), the overall and a stage at the Tour of Missouri (2007), and another stage win at the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré in 2008. He is a three-time US Professional Road Race champion (1998, 2006, 2009).

Throughout his career Hincapie has targeted the cobbled classics of April, specifically the week that begins with the Tour of Flanders, continues mid-week with Gent–Wevelgem, and ends with Paris–Roubaix. He achieved his highest position on the podium with his 2001 victory in Gent–Wevelgem.

His many top 10 placings in these races include 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th (twice), 7th, and 10th in various Tour of Flanders; 3rd, 4th (three times), and 5th in Gent–Wevelgem, in addition to his victory; and 2nd, 4th (twice), 6th (twice), 8th, and 9th in Paris–Roubaix. While using Three Days of De Panne as a warm-up ride during the previous week, he has placed well in that race also, winning the overall in 2004 and placing third overall in 2002.

Hincapie signing in at Tarbes during the 2006 Tour de France

In 2005, Hincapie showed a talent for short individual time trials (ITTs), winning the prologue at the 2005 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, placing second three times and third once in prologues in 2006 (including at the Tour de France), and placing second in the short ITT at Three Days of De Panne. In the 2006 Paris-Roubaix, bad luck struck Hincapie in the cobbled sector of Mons-en-Pévèle, when the steerer tube of his Trek bicycle snapped, leaving him dangling with no handlebars and crashing heavily. He was near the lead group but had to abandon the race.[8] He later won the ITT at the Eneco Tour of Benelux in 2006 and placed fourth in two longer ITTs that year. He finished third in the prologue at the 2007 Tour de France and second in the prologue at the Volta a Catalunya in 2008.

Hincapie rode for Team Columbia in the 2008 and 2009 seasons, departing Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team shortly before it disbanded.[9] He is easily distinguished from the pack by his large size (1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)). His contract with the team expired after the 2009 season, and though there was talk of him joining Armstrong's new Team RadioShack, Hincapie signed with BMC Racing Team for the 2010 season.[10]

In 2012, he set a record by completing his 17th Tour of Flanders, surpassing Briek Schotte.[11] On June 11, Hincapie announced that he would retire at the end of the season, after 19 years in the professional peloton.[12] On June 30, Hincapie started a record 17th Tour de France. He was allowed to lead the race onto the Champs-Élysées as this was his final Tour de France.[13] In August, Hincapie announced that he had raced in his last event, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. In his own words: “It's been a long career for me, a good career and I'm proud of it. I'm sad to leave, but at the same time, I'm excited to spend more time with my family and start a new life.”[14] He also said that he didn't plan to terminate all his relations with cycling.[15]

Doping [edit]

On October 10, 2012 Hincapie announced on his website that he had used banned substances at times in his career. The statement reads in part:

"Because of my love for the sport, the contributions I feel I have made to it, and the amount the sport of cycling has given to me over the years, it is extremely difficult today to acknowledge that during a part of my career I used banned substances. Early in my professional career, it became clear to me that, given the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs by cyclists at the top of the profession, it was not possible to compete at the highest level without them. I deeply regret that choice and sincerely apologize to my family, teammates and fans."
—[16]

The statement came as the U.S. Anti-Doping agency announced plans to release documents related to doping accusations against Lance Armstrong, a former teammate of Hincapie.[17]

Palmarès [edit]

Hincapie at Saint-Flour during the 2004 Tour de France.
1994
2nd Overall Tour de Luxembourg
1st Stages 1 & 4
1st Jersey green.svg Points Classification
4th Classic Haribo
1995
3rd Reading Classic
10th Philadelphia International Championship
1997
5th Reading Classic
1998
1st MaillotUSA.PNG National Road Race Championships
1st Philadelphia International Championships
2nd Reading Classic
5th Lancaster Classic
1999
1st Jersey green.svg Points Competition, Tour de Luxembourg
1st Stage 6 PruTour
3rd Lancaster Classic
4th Ghent-Wevelgem
4th Paris–Roubaix
5th Vattenfall Cyclassics
9th Milan - San Remo
9th Philadelphia International Championship
2000
3rd Reading Classic
4th Trofeo Luis Puig
5th Philadelphia International Championship
6th Paris–Roubaix
7th Lancaster Classic
8th Olympic Road Race
2001
1st Gent–Wevelgem
1st San Francisco Grand Prix
2nd Lancaster Classic
3rd Overall Tour de Picardie
3rd Philadelphia International Championship
4th Paris–Roubaix
9th Milan - San Remo
2002
1st Stage 1 (TTT), Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
2nd Classic Haribo
3rd Gent–Wevelgem
3rd Overall Volta ao Algarve
4th Tour of Flanders
5th Vattenfall Cyclassics
5th Philadelphia International Championship
6th Paris–Roubaix
9th Lancaster Classic
2003
1st Stage 4 (TTT) Tour de France
7th Overall Tour of Belgium
2004
1st Overall Jersey yellow.svg Three Days of De Panne
4th Gent–Wevelgem
5th Overall Paris–Nice
8th Paris–Roubaix
10th Tour of Flanders
2006
1st MaillotUSA.PNG National Road Race Championships
2nd Overall Eneco Tour of Benelux
1st Stage 4 (ITT)
5th Gent–Wevelgem
8th Tirreno–Adriatico
9th Clásica de San Sebastián
2007
1st Overall Jersey yellow.svg Tour of Missouri
1st Stage 2
2nd National Road Race Championships
2008
1st Stage 2 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
4th Overall Tour of Missouri
5th Tour of Flanders
9th Paris–Roubaix
9th Three Days of De Panne
Tour of California
1st Stage 7
1st Jersey red.svg Most Aggressive Rider
2009
1st, MaillotUSA.PNG National Road Race Championships
8th E3 Harelbeke
2010
4th Gent–Wevelgem
6th Tour of Flanders
2011
2nd National Road Race Championships
5th Overall, USA Pro Cycling Challenge
1st Stage 2
6th Tour of Flanders
2012
40th Overall USA Pro Cycling Challenge - LPR

Grand Tours overall classification results timeline [edit]

Grand Tour 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
gold jersey Vuelta 110 - - - - - - - WD - - - - - - - - -
Pink jersey Giro - - - - - - - - - - - - WD - - - - -
Yellow jersey Tour - WD 104 53 78 65 71 59 47 33 13 32 24 35 17 59 56 38

WD = Withdrew; Voided results = struck through.

References [edit]

  1. ^ Wynn, Nigel (June 12, 2012). "Hincapie to retire after record-breaking 17th Tour de France". Cycling Weekly (IPC Media Limited). Retrieved January 3, 2013. 
  2. ^ Dansie, Sam (2011-07-23). "Hincapie part of nine Tour de France victories". CyclingNews. Retrieved 2011-07-23. 
  3. ^ Caley Fretz (30 June 2012). "George Hincapie gets a special bike for his ‘gentleman’s round’ in the 2012 Tour de France". Velo News (2012 Competitor Group, Inc.). Retrieved 27 August 2012. 
  4. ^ http://www.georgehincapie.com/news/Statement-from-George-Hincapie/. Retrieved 10 Oct 2012.  Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ^ a b http://d3epuodzu3wuis.cloudfront.net/2012-10-09+WB+to+Anders+re.+Hincapie+Sanction.pdf%7CGeorge Hincapie notice of sanction
  6. ^ Hincapie Sports Official website
  7. ^ "Beauté du Tour : Melanie Hincapie". Le Blog de l'Ardoisier. 2010-05-15. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 
  8. ^ "The mean machine takes first Roubaix win for CSC". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). 9 April 2006. Retrieved 27 August 2012. 
  9. ^ "George Hincapie: Heading to new pastures". Cyclingnews.com. 2007-12-07. Retrieved 2007-12-08. 
  10. ^ VeloNews.com (2009-09-01). "Hincapie confirms to BMC with Ballan, Kroon, Burghardt". VeloNews. Retrieved 2009-09-02. 
  11. ^ "bmc racing team finishes 3-4 at tour of flanders". BMC. 1 May 2012. 
  12. ^ "Hincapie announces retirement". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). June 11, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012. 
  13. ^ Gregor Brown (30 June 2012). "Hincapie makes history with 17th Tour start". Cycling Weekly (IPC Media). Retrieved 17 July 2012. 
  14. ^ "Triple USA national champion Hincapie brings a 19-year pro career to a close". Velo Nation (Velo Nation LLC). 27 August 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2012. 
  15. ^ Jason Blevins (27 August 2012). "George Hincapie ends 18-year cycling career at Pro Challenge in Denver". Denver Post (The Denver Post). Retrieved 27 August 2012. 
  16. ^ Hincapie, George. "STATEMENT FROM GEORGE HINCAPIE". Retrieved 10 October 2012. 
  17. ^ Red, Christian (10 October 2012). "Lance Armstrong's 'best bro' George Hincapie is biggest figure yet to turn on disgraced cyclist". Retrieved 13 October 2012. 

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: George Hincapie
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Bart Bowen		 USA National Road Race Champion
1998		 Succeeded by
Marty Jemison
Preceded by
Chris Wherry		 USA National Road Race Champion
2006		 Succeeded by
Levi Leipheimer
Preceded by
Tyler Hamilton		 USA National Road Race Champion
2009		 Succeeded by
Ben King
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