Originally Posted by
broerie
Grrrrreat idea!!!!
about 10 years ago (or longer) I was at the start of Gent-Wevelgem. Museeuw, Van Petegem and all the big names of that era were there, and a massive crowd gathered around them, so I decided to have a chat with a less known rider. I soon noticed a guy standing on the side in a US postal jesey. I started a conversation with the man, who turned out to be real friendly. It was George Hincapy and a couple of years later he wasn't unknown anymore.
The younger guys are (almost) always friendly and very easy to approach.
That reminds me of an experience at the Tour de Trump from the late 80's. I went with some friends to watch a stage, and we were waiting at the top of a climb in the middle of Nowhere, Pennsylvania. It was cold, and kind of drizzling, if I remember correctly. One of my friends was a US citizen, but originally from Colombia. When a rider from South America struggled by, she started cheering him on, in perfect Spanish, of course. The poor guy almost fell over from the whiplash as his head swung around in surprise!
