Professional Cycling For the Fans - So happy for George Hincapie

What I was trying to point out was that Pereiero options where to pull Hincapie move up in the GC and get second or sit up and lose and not even get an advantage in the GC. My point was that Pereiero got something not what he wanted out of the stage but he know when he did not drop George he was not going to win. My point on not knowing is not that people dont have tv, sure they knew were Lance and the big hitters were. In the moutains Phil and Paul certainly don't even know where the top ten is at all times never mind where the top 20 is and where they will be when they all get to the line. But all in all Smoothie is just right if you can not drop a classics rider in the mountains then its your fault.

FYI, the breaks are called onto the race radio with the numbers of the riders involved, and their time gaps every five minutes or less with announcements if a rider drops off or moves up front. You'll see a motor escort (now known as fan jumpers) with virtually every break AND the riders falling off the back. The team cars monitor these transmissions. Phonak and Discovery knew exactly what was going on the whole time.

Periero certainly got his revenge today though. Cadel pulled like a madman, and gave up the stage win for personal reasons (trying to finish in front of as many T Mobile riders in the overall as possible).

I hope Lance takes care of George when he retires. If Lance is so insistent on loyalty, George is the perfect model of selflessness.

I was unaware that Lance owned part of Tailwind and CTS (among other things)--hopefully he'll give George a cushy job. He certainly deserves it and I'm sure he'll do well.

:) Congrats to George :)

levi leipheimer made some remarks about george in his diary at

http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2005/diaries/levi/tour05.php?id=levi0524

to those who still say george is not a climber, well, one of the better climbers in the peloton thinks otherwise :)

also, i agree with those who say that george won fair and square. hey, if you dont want a guy sitting on your wheel, then either do something about it or sit up if it bothers you that much. Check what happened with Chris Horner and his near stage win. He said after the race that he wasnt willing to settle for second and thus didnt pull through and hence he got caught by the peloton. And he wasnt upset about it either, thats just the way it goes in racing.

I wonder if Pereiro and Phonak will continue to complain how George won, seeing as how he/they pulled the same tactics in yesterday's stage by not doing work in the last 5km. That was even on a flatter section than when George won, too!

I wonder if Pereiro and Phonak will continue to complain how George won, seeing as how he/they pulled the same tactics in yesterday's stage by not doing work in the last 5km. That was even on a flatter section than when George won, too!

FYI - Hincapie sat on the wheel almost the entire day! Not just 5km. Checkout Salvodelli's win today (20 minute break as well). He could have done the Lance is my boss can't help ya routine but instead choose to grind it out and won. A win is a win but Salvodelli's sure looked more impressive than what Hincapie did or rather didn't do.

The two stages weren't in the same relm tactically. I think the tactics are different from the hardest stage in the tour to a stage after the mountains with some hills.

I hope Lance takes care of George when he retires. If Lance is so insistent on loyalty, George is the perfect model of selflessness.

I was unaware that Lance owned part of Tailwind and CTS (among other things)--hopefully he'll give George a cushy job. He certainly deserves it and I'm sure he'll do well.

:) Congrats to George :)


I think George will be okay. He probably gets paid pretty well, now, and will have a couple of years to ride Classics or Grand Tours for himself. Plus he and his brother have a sportswear company (I have some of their jerseys and shorts).

If memory serves, Dan Osipow, Bill Stapleton (Lance's lawyer and agent) and Lance are the three main principles behind the Disco Team.

A win is a win and if the other riders are willing to let you wheelsuck, it's their own darn fault.

Levi's comments were that George was the second best climber on Discovery this year; that doesn't make him a possible tour winner. When George has been in the company of the real contenders he hasn't been able to hang. He's improved, but only up to that second tier. Remember, he sat in the entire time on a break that worked themselves to an 18 minute advantage, which got well chewed down once the contenders started testing each other.

No one is proclaiming Boogard and Periero a possible tour winner...

Again....I'll trust the opinions of the other riders and directors rather than a bunch of spectators. Last year George was the rider who tore the race apart on LaMongie. The moto rider who watched it was in awe at the finish line describing how George rode all the climbers off on the climb at 30+ kph. When he was done only three others remained. He may not be able to win the TDF but a lot of people and riders appreciate a guy who can finish top 5 or 10 and maybe challenge for the podium.

Look at the other climbers who Levi ranked him over...Popo, Acevedo, Ruberio, Triki, Palo...thats some impressive company...just not impressive enough for some I guess

I wonder if Pereiro and Phonak will continue to complain how George won, seeing as how he/they pulled the same tactics in yesterday's stage by not doing work in the last 5km. That was even on a flatter section than when George won, too!

Actually, after the win Pereiro mellowed a bit his previous harsh words about George. It came down to that he was angry about himself not being able to drop him...

Read it in Procycling News section here:

http://www.procycling.com/news.aspx

He also had some warmer words for Hincapie. “The other day there were some misunderstandings… but things were taken out of context. It’s difficult to win at the Tour and George did what he needed to. What upset me was that I didn’t expect him to be so strong.”

FYI - Hincapie sat on the wheel almost the entire day! Not just 5km. Checkout Salvodelli's win today (20 minute break as well). He could have done the Lance is my boss can't help ya routine but instead choose to grind it out and won. A win is a win but Salvodelli's sure looked more impressive than what Hincapie did or rather didn't do.

Paolo gave a tutorial that Pereiro should watch. Paolo didn't let Hinault just wheel-suck. He dropped back and made Hinault pull, and then Paolo also sprinted out at least twice to make Hinault work further, and not just sit on his wheel. It caused two more riders in the chase to catch them, so it added some risk, but he showed how not to let a guy just sit on his wheel.

I'm glad Pereiro was more magnanimous about Hincapie after Oscar got his stage win on Tuesday - he really only has himself to blame for Stage 15, IMO.

FYI, the breaks are called onto the race radio with the numbers of the riders involved, and their time gaps every five minutes or less with announcements if a rider drops off or moves up front. You'll see a motor escort (now known as fan jumpers) with virtually every break AND the riders falling off the back. The team cars monitor these transmissions. Phonak and Discovery knew exactly what was going on the whole time.

Periero certainly got his revenge today though. Cadel pulled like a madman, and gave up the stage win for personal reasons (trying to finish in front of as many T Mobile riders in the overall as possible).

I realize that there are fan jumpers with major breaks and chases but there are not that many bike for every group on that ride. Remember that was the Queen Stage. People were all over those mountains. I know DS's have a good idea what is going on but I think you saying that anyone knows exactly where all the riders all is just wishful thinking. You always see guys going off the back with nothing around them you just see the camera take a shot of them and then head up the road leaving them alone, those riders might hang there or move up or back.

I realize that there are fan jumpers with major breaks and chases but there are not that many bike for every group on that ride.

You're probably right. I've only been to the TDF and seen how many motor escorts they have, and have worked as one in a US professional stage race, where we covered 9 seperate groups at one point. We probably had much better radio communications and far more motor escorts than they would have at the TDF.

What I saw when I was at the actual TDF was probably an exception, or I could have been hallucinating the 75+ motor units they had on Alpe d' Huez alone and the endless caravan in front and in back of the race during the other stages I watched while I was there.

Obviously you know far more from watching TV. I'll defer to your expertise, and keep my "Wishful thinking" to myself.