LATEST FEATURES: GEORGE HINCAPIE: ANOTHER AMERICAN LEGACY

LATEST FEATURES: GEORGE HINCAPIE: ANOTHER AMERICAN LEGACY
Chris Henry
July 17, 2009

(Photo: Roberto Bettini)

While much of the cycling world focuses on the comeback of Lance Armstrong, Road Bike Action decided to ask another American about his career and what is perhaps a more subtle, yet important contribution to the sport. Winning the Tour de France is what makes a cyclist a star in the United States, but George Hincapie has carved out his own place in the sport's history, particularly in the USA.

This year Hincapie lines up for his fourteenth Tour, and it may not be his last. We asked him if he could have ever imagined this many laps around France, so many of which ended in a team victory.

"No, definitely not," Hincapie laughed. "I wished I would do one when I was growing up. Once I started doing them I thought ten would be a good number, and here I am at fourteen."

"It's funny, I hear all these young guys saying they'll do four or five more years," he added. "I say 'whatever, dudes', once you get here you just keep going."

For Hincapie, after strong performances on the Motorola team in the 1990s, his career kicked into even higher gear with a jump to U.S. Postal Service. First battling for the yellow and green jerseys in the opening week of the 1998 Tour, then becoming a part of Lance Armstrong's [first] storied comeback and ultimately dominant Tour run. For Hincapie, there is no lack of pride to be taken in playing such a fundamental support role for Armstrong and the team, establishing himself as an indispensable captain on the road.

"That definitely helped propel my career to a new level and I think the teams really appreciate what I do and what I can bring to any team I'm on," he said. "There's no other rider that's ever been part of eight Tour de France victories and I feel really appreciated in the team that I'm in."

Just as the general public has had a hard time seeing cycling beyond the Tour de France, many- including casual fans- still have trouble grasping the team component of the sport. Nonetheless, Big George believes that his role in the Tour has earned him respect and a fair amount of notoriety.

"I think the fans have really learned a lot about cycling throughout Lance's career and they really respect what I've done for him," he said with almost uncharacteristic assurance. "I think I have a great following back in the U.S. and they really appreciate what I've done and how much of a team sport this is."

"They understand that when it comes to that, there's no other rider that can do as good a job as me in the world," Hincapie added. "I think the new cycling fans that came into the sport as Lance was winning the Tour the first year or two started figuring things out as the Tours went on, and for the most part they understand [what I do]."

After another frustrating outing in his favorite race, Paris-Roubaix, Hincapie said earlier this year that he would be back for more. A thirty-six years of age (having celebrated a birthday just prior to the Tour), the tall American certainly has more years in his legs. The question is one of morale as much as strength, and Hincapie appears to have plenty of both. So will we see him in his fifteenth Tour in 2010?

"I'm not sure," he said with some reflection. "I think so, but I'll see. I need to get through this Tour and then decide."

"Of course I would have loved to have won more in my career but I would never have imagined doing what I've done as a kid growing up," he said, underscoring the importance of his years in the limelight as Armstrong's right-hand man. "I've had more than I ever dreamed from riding my bike, so I'm pretty happy."