By George!!! WooHoo!!

[Rudy]

Hincapie!!! what a stage win...and a difficult mountain stage too. Well deserving!! I'm very happy for the guy who's been so faithful as a team mate over the year.

 

[spockroyaltea]

Hincapie!!! what a stage win...and a difficult mountain stage too. Well deserving!! I'm very happy for the guy who's been so faithful as a team mate over the year.

yes it was a good stage for hincapie.

 

[JRMDC]

As a long-time Hincapie fan, YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

 

[cheapie]

the domestique of domestiques gets his day in the sun.

 

[limerickman]

the domestique of domestiques gets his day in the sun.

Agreed.
It's nice to see a domestique get a win in a grand tour.

 

[tri4fun]

Kudos for George. My wife's yelling at me because I hopping up mad, waking up the kids....later she tells me the last time she saw me do that was during Roubaiux, and she wants to know what's wrong with ME?

 

[rule62]

There wasn't a dry eye in the house around here. I can't think of anybody who could have deserved it more. And on this day, such a special day, the race honored who may well be the greatest teammate. Surreal indeed!

 

[tcklyde]

Reminds me a bit of Guerini winning on L'Alpe d'Huez in 1999. Of course, Ullrich wasn't in the Tour that year. But still, a long time domestique getting a huge win.

 

[drebro]

A beautiful victory! And to think this is the man who finished second in Paris-Roubaix; I don't think many others who did well there were around on the hardest mountain stage of the Tour.

 

[musette]

Although I have to say that LA's comparisons of Hincapie to Hinault is very exaggerated....

 

[Rudy]

Kudos for George. My wife's yelling at me because I hopping up mad, waking up the kids....later she tells me the last time she saw me do that was during Roubaiux, and she wants to know what's wrong with ME?

hehe LOL ROFL

 

[Rudy]

There wasn't a dry eye in the house around here. I can't think of anybody who could have deserved it more. And on this day, such a special day, the race honored who may well be the greatest teammate. Surreal indeed!

well said!

 

[limerickman]

Hincapie's second place at Roubaix and his winning a TDF mountain stage is a great achievement.

Hincapies achievement was bettered by Hinault in 1981.

That year Hinault won Paris-Roubaix and won the 18th stage of the TDF at
Bourg d'Oisans-Le Pleynet.
Hinault also won the TDF that year too.

 

[wolfix]

Hincapie's second place at Roubaix and his winning a TDF mountain stage is a great achievement.

Hincapies achievement was bettered by Hinault in 1981.

That year Hinault won Paris-Roubaix and won the 18th stage of the TDF at
Bourg d'Oisans-Le Pleynet.
Hinault also won the TDF that year too.

Today was FANTASTIC !!!!!! But Hincapie is no Hinault. He can not climb, TT, or even possibly sprint like Hinault. But other riders can trust him. Just ask Lemond about Hinault.

 

[limerickman]

Today was FANTASTIC !!!!!! But Hincapie is no Hinault. He can not climb, TT, or even possibly sprint like Hinault. But other riders can trust him. Just ask Lemond about Hinault.

I don't think you'd get any cycling fan who'd begrudge GH's win today.

As regards Hinault - Bernard was a one off.
The best rider I have ever seen, I have to say.
He could do it all and more : he could tell you when and where he'd do it too.

But let's not take away from the subject - it's GH's day.
he'll be tired but happy tonight, me thinks !

 

[Rudy]

Yea ...he may be tired but they have a rest day tomorrow to make it even sweeter!! More time to savor a well desrving win on a difficult stage.

 

[whiteboytrash]

.....and to avoid Spanish fans who will be after him for lying to Pereiro and sitting on his wheel all day.

Yea ...he may be tired but they have a rest day tomorrow to make it even sweeter!! More time to savor a well desrving win on a difficult stage.

 

[limerickman]

WBT : going for a TDF mountain stage win : all deals are off especailly in the last 5kms.

Pereiro should have tried to have climbed away sooner than he did.
GH was always going to win in the last 3kms if they were together.

 

[thebluetrain]

.....and to avoid Spanish fans who will be after him for lying to Pereiro and sitting on his wheel all day.

Hincapie did what everyone of the other 160 riders left would have done in his position. tactics WBT. Its called tactics.

 

[musette]

I don't see Hincapie as lying. He encouraged Perreiro to work together with him. People say that to people they are on breaks with all the time. There was nothing Perreiro could have done, unless Hincapie cracked. Hincapie was not going to pull. What do you do? So, what Hincapie told Perreiro did not change the outcome. Also:

-- What working with another rider means is subjective. It could mean they go to the top of the climb together, which they did.

-- After Hincapie failed to pull and go to the front the first time after Hincapie said that to Perreiro, Perreiro should have started to reevaluate and ask whether Hincapie intended to continue to sit on his wheel until the end. Why didn't Perreiro say something to Hincapie, or more strongly encourage Hincapie to go to the front, at that time? (not that it would have changed things)

-- Perreiro and everybody in the peloton knows that, if Hincapie and Perreiro were to get to the top of Plat d'Adet together, Hincapie would win the sprint with a high probability. Perreiro knew this from the time of the beginning of the breakways and he of course knew that when hincapie said those things to him. So, Perreiro took a gamble that Hincapie would be dropped before Plat d'Adet. Obviously, that gamble failed.