Can Hincapie win the 2007 Tour !?

dexjava said:

Like a fine wine, Hincapie just needed time to ferment. Will he be back for yellow in 2007!?

Ahh, Dex, it isn't quite the same if WBT is not asking the question. :p No irony!

But he could be back in yellow, he is a pretty good prologue rider. But not after three weeks.

dexjava said:

Like a fine wine, Hincapie just needed time to ferment. Will he be back for yellow in 2007!?

Do we really need another thread on this? WBT already trolled back through a years worth of threads only to ask the same question.:p

whiteboytrash said:

Big George had a bad year this year but next year he can come back stronger than ever... I think he is a chance for the 2007 Tour... what do you guys think ?

thebluetrain said:

Do we really need another thread on this? WBT already trolled back through a years worth of threads only to ask the same question.:p

Well he didn't pull through and create the 2007 thread, so I was forced to step up and handle it.

dexjava said:

Like a fine wine, Hincapie just needed time to ferment. Will he be back for yellow in 2007!?

Oi, why don't we wait to see who's actually going to be given the win for 2006 first?

I'm still pretty sure Hincapie is going to win the 2006 TDF. After the drug police finish up on Landis they are going to start on Pereiro, then Kloeden, then ....

Hincapie is the only clean one of the bunch! 🙂 It may take years but I predict by 2020 Hincapie will have the 2006 TDF win!

No.

Can Hink win anything?

Will he and Hoste be able to work together now that they're on separate teams?

Will he fall on his sword to help Levi win the Tour?

Will he be able to take direction from Eki in the team car?

DiabloScott said:

Can Hink win anything?

Will he and Hoste be able to work together now that they're on separate teams?

Will he fall on his sword to help Levi win the Tour?

Will he be able to take direction from Eki in the team car?

And the obvious quesitons ,when the stars align, and strategic hinderance is not available, will his bike stay in one piece, or can Big George stay in his upright position?

Geesh, just because he hasn't been a big winner, so many treat Hincapie like some big loser. Yes, he can win, he has won a number of times in Europe: TdF, GP Poulay, Dauphine, Gent-Wevelgem, KBK. Given his riding persona, yes, he will probably knock himself out as always for whomever leads DC in the Tour next year. Yes, he still may have one or two strategic errors left in him. 🙁 But he still has some "strong man" performances left also.

And DC still has pretty good strength for the spring classics without Hoste: Devolder, Gusev, Vaitkus, Hammond. So Hinc will have support next year.

DiabloScott said:

Can Hink win anything?

Will he and Hoste be able to work together now that they're on separate teams?

Will he fall on his sword to help Levi win the Tour?

Will he be able to take direction from Eki in the team car?

I love George, but the man has never once, ever, ever , ever stayed with the big boys on the final climb of any mountain in the history of his entire career.

Sure he was able to suck Periero's wheel for a while, after not doing a single pull for 5 hours...but that's not quite the same thing is it?

EvilJediJ said:

I love George, but the man has never once, ever, ever , ever stayed with the big boys on the final climb of any mountain in the history of his entire career.

Is this a complaint? A criticism? Has Boonen ever done so? Has Backstedt?

Are you complaining about Hincapie, or about the american press about Hincapie?

JRMDC said:

Is this a complaint? A criticism? Has Boonen ever done so? Has Backstedt?

There are not a large number of Boonen or Backstedt fans expecting him to win the Tour.

Bro Deal said:

There are not a large number of Boonen or Backstedt fans expecting him to win the Tour.

I thought at one point Boonen was talking about how he would like to convert to a stage-race GC man over the next several years? I don't remember if that was him or other people saying that, but I thought he started the speculation.

Bro Deal said:

There are not a large number of Boonen or Backstedt fans expecting him to win the Tour.

I guess I get annoyed when people criticize the rider instead of the fans. If eviljedij had said "George's fans ignore that he has never once, ever..." then I would have no problem with it.

dexjava said:

I thought at one point Boonen was talking about how he would like to convert to a stage-race GC man over the next several years? I don't remember if that was him or other people saying that, but I thought he started the speculation.

I thought the opposite was true, that around TdF time he said he had no interest in doing so.

I'm too lazy today to look up a cite, it's not important anyway...

dexjava said:

Like a fine wine, Hincapie just needed time to ferment. Will he be back for yellow in 2007!?

Eddy Merckx.

JRMDC said:

I guess I get annoyed when people criticize the rider instead of the fans. If eviljedij had said "George's fans ignore that he has never once, ever..." then I would have no problem with it.

I am criticizing both. The fan's perception of George, the hype, and his own thinking that he could be a podium contender.

Last I heard Boonen wanted to retire before the age of 30.

well, i'd hate to use this example at this time, but floyd landis' role as team leader was also questioned his first year becuase of poor results. Now i know how it is going right now for floyd, but he did get 3 other victories this year, and an excellent performance in the tour besides stage 16 and questionable 17. Then again, we could find him being accused of doping after the tour if he wins.

dexjava said:

Like a fine wine, Hincapie just needed time to ferment. Will he be back for yellow in 2007!?

He's an Excellent Classics, One day, short tour rider. But there is very little chance of him winning a grand tour, he just can't defend it over three weeks, he can't climb with the best of them for an extented period of days.