jkoman

I thought this might make for some lively chat. I feel George doesn't get the credit due him. We talk about the issues that may arise with T-mobile...too many chiefs...then some bash on poor ole Georgie as an over-rated rider. I feel he is underappreciated by those dirty bashers...lol. I mean imagine it...he didn't win Paris Roubaix in 2001 when up against 3 Domo riders...what a loser. I'll save some of my other comments for later in this post. By the way...everyone knows that Brad Johnson is a much better QB than Jim Kelly...after all he won a Super Bowl....he must be.

Laggard

George is a very strong rider who at one time had the capability of winning one day races. He reminds me of Duclos-Lasalle though George seems to have trouble being at the front at the critical moment or he may be like Ulrich and lack the tactical smarts to know where to be.

I don't know if I'd call him a super-domestique but he is an overly strong support rider.

georgesnatcher

In my opinion Hincapie is one of the best if not the best domestique in the peloton. The fact that he can also ride the classics is a plus. So he has not won a "major", big deal. He has finished in a lot of the classics higher than supposedly more talented riders.
George generally gives up most of his season to ride for Lance in the TDF. I feel on any other team Hincapie would garner more respect and not be tagged an underachiever.

Laggard

After further thought, George may have the strength to win some big races. It's just that he seems to not be able to make the big effort when the chips are down. That may be why he's been labled as an underachiever.

brent_dube

Well he seems to ride to have his form in July rather than April. If April was his sole preparation, maybe he would have more wins eh?

TriDevil

In the races Ive seen where he goes for the sprint it always seems he starts his sprint way too soon and then ends up in 6th or 7th. Ive seen this a couple of times so it shows that he can get up there and stay up front but it seems he needs to learn to time his sprints better.

Smoothie104

I think George would have won a stage or two in the TdF by now, but Postal riders are not allowed to go in any of the breakaways during the Tour.

joeprim

Gee he lost P-N by 46 seconds what a looser, wish I could do that!

roadrasher

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IMO George is a great rider who either through bad luck,bad tactics or a lack of team support has not been able to win a classic - other than GW of course but does that really count?-.
But he is one of the few like Zabel & OGrady who are strong from April to October. He also is willing to work himself into the ground for his teammates.
A real classy rider indeed!

Laggard

Ekimov impresses me more than Georgie ever did. Now there's one tough rider.

roadwarrior

Wow, he's a loser too...remember him at Paris-Roubaix last April?....

I get a hoot out of the CATV evaluations of these professionals.

If he sucked, he would not be riding for Lance.

Brent pointed out his form's better in July. Exactly. He gets paid a LOT of money to be that way. That's his job. Anything else he picks up along the way is gravy.

Word is the bonus Lance pays his guys when they win the Tour is more than he'd make winning other races.

He knows what his job is....

Eki's tough and won a lot of big stuff...but he goes to battle with George at his side and vice versa.

Team mates...and why Postal wins so much.

RacerX

ALOT of riders get second place. If Hincapie inspires you than that's great. He is a great rider but he is not on the top tier and he is not a finisher like Van Petegem, Bartoli, Dekker, Boogerd or the dozens of other better riders that have won Classics, stages or championships.

Ekimov is a class above Hincapie. He is a WC, a Olympic champ and a true finisher.

Hincapie is a super-domestique not a finisher.

Laggard

Very nice summary, RacerX.

georgesnatcher

And you forgot the most important part. He does what he is paid to do, and in doing so sacrifices himself. He rides and guides LA in July. I don't call that a loser. I call that selfless.

Laggard

I'm surprised by the passion expressed in this thread. Hincappie's a great rider. I think this debate started when people began commenting on OLN's treatment of George as the next coming of Eddie. "He's placing himself in a position to steal this stage!" Or "This stage suits him well." The problem is George rarely proves them right. There was a bunch sprint last year where George was briefly off the front and by the tone of Paul and Phil's voice you'd have thought he was in position to win the worlds. Of course he was swallowed up shortly after.

KingRene

Ghent Wevelgem, or Gent-Wevelgem, depending on your locale, is a classic.

There are nine original one-day monuments in this sport and Wevelgem is most certainly one of them.

Laggard

Yeah, there are the 5 monuments:

Paris Roubaix
Milan San Remo
Tour of Flanders
LBL
Tour of Lombardy

and then 8 or so other major classics. GW being one of them.

*edited to say that I really need to find more exciting work*

georgesnatcher

The reason I feel that you hear so much about George on American TV during the classics season is twofold. One he is usually the only American near the front. Two he is riding for the only Div 1 American team. I remember last year during Paris Robaix when it looked like Ekimov had a chance. All OLN could talk about was Ekimov. Pieri and Van Petegem were barely mentioned.
I am sure in every country where cycling is broadcast the nationalistic fervor comes out with each countries stations trying to put the best face on their countries riders. The TDF is broadcast by French TV and everytime Jackie Durand goes on one of his kamikaze runs you would think that he will win the race by miles. Never happens though. Its just the networks trying to keep the "home folk" interested and tuned in.

roadwarrior

most have no idea what you are talking about....unless they have raced over a hundred miles at a time with a team, they don't understand.

you are correct.

don d.

I think much of George's potential has been blanketed by the team he rides for. It's very possible that on another team, he may have a more illustrious palmares. He has finished as high as 5th in the TDF points competition.

I think Gilbert Duclos-LaSalle was a much better rider than Hincapie. By the time he was the age George is now, he had more than twice as many victories, including the overall victory in Paris-Nice. He then raced for another ten years, and won his first Paris Roubaix when he was almost 7 years older than George is now. He also won 4 six day races in his career and could smoke in a sprint.

Lars Michaelsen is probably a more similar rider to this point. One classic win, Gent-Wevelgem, and numerous less significant victories. Big diesel, a fast finisher but not a top sprinter.

George may surprise us this spring. I can't ever remember him riding this well this early.

RunYun

It's pretty easy to sit back and judge when you watch it on TV. Try just one of these stages/races at a racing pace and then continue with your comments. He gets my full respect for the great job that he and all the others do.

fore

i've said it before, and i'm going to say it again, because it's the simplest way i've found to illustrate what i think of hincapie.

he's as strong as an ox, but as dumb as a pile of bricks.

i wish i could be 1/4th as strong as he is on the bike, i'll be the last person to say he doesn't have the ability to do well. it's just that i think he's one of those types of riders that needs to have their hand held. seriously. how many times has he just sat there while a very scary-looking breakaway rode off the front? how many times has he started his sprint WAY too early? he did just that last week in Paris-Nice.

Laggard

Outside of the U.S., he probably doesn't get the credit he deserves. He has plenty of respect among his peers. I've always thought though that Phil, Paul and Bob maybe give him to much credit. They pump him up to do great things and he never follows through.

brent_dube

Maybe part of it (OLN hyping him) is that he is on USPS, which sponsors OLN?

don d.

Sad...