Friday, September 09, 2005
Happy George Hincapie Day!
There is a collective orgasm unleashed today in North Carolina, beginning a movement that will certainly culminate in the pronouncement of a new National Holiday: It's George Hincapie Day!
For those who have been blinded by the radiance of Lance, his self-described "best friend" has also been self-described as "America's premier classics rider." Ok, so the guy does have some decent palmares: his wins at Ghent-Wevelgem a few seasons back and the GP Ouest France earlier this month were impressive, and he started this season off with a good win at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. Although I'd take exception with his description of an "very impressive win" at stage 15 in the Tour. It was impressive mainly for its classlessness.
But still, Hincapie has a point that he is a very fast man at the end of a 200 km race. But it is a far different story when the race is over the 250+ km distance where the real classics -- the Monuments -- are fought.
Quite simply, Hincapie does not have what it takes to be a good classics rider. What he lacks is the ability to take the race to his opponents, to ride proactively instead of reactively, to basically understand how the race is playing out and press his advantage. To put it more succinctly, he lacks tactical nous.
Consider the style of Tom Boonen, whose own emergence on the Classics scene game as a helper for Hincapie, who was clearly riding within his limits at Roubaix so as not to leave his erstwhile captain literally in his dust. Hincapie put an end to the sorry spectacle by riding ignomiously -- and all alone -- into a ditch. Unfortunately for Boonen, his release came to late that race to bridge up to the winning break.
In this year's edition of the Hell of the North, however, both men made it to the critical break. But for some unknowable reason, Hincapie did not attack Boonen. Instead, America's preier classics rider reckoned that he would take his chances in a three-up sprint with Boonen and Juan Antonio Flecha. That's right, Hincapie decided to go head-to-head in a sprint with one of the few riders in the pro peloton that can regularly challenge Pettachi and McEwen. Smart move. We have some Turtle Wax, Rice-a-Roni, and a home version of the Queen of the Classics for you as lovely parting gifts.
The contrast with Boonen's own win in the Tour of Flanders just one week before he schooled George in Roubaix could not have been more stark. Boonen was in the winning break with Andreas Klier, fellow fast man (still so at the end of a long classics race) Erik Zabel, and Flanders specialist Peter Van Petegem. Had the group arrived together at the finish, Boonen certainly would have had the advantage. But with two seasoned finishers, and Andreas Klier who also knew the route extremely well, Boonen did not wait for the attacks from the big men, and instead set out on his own. The next time Van Petegem and Co. saw him, it was on the victory podium.
Boonen, though, showed himself to be a gracious winner in Roubaix. When asked about the final break, he remarked that he wasn't worried that Hincapie would be dangerous in the finish. "I knew he would be nervous. He doesn't win much." He was nice enough to omit that "America's premier classics rider" doesn't know how to win the classics.
For those who have been blinded by the radiance of Lance, his self-described "best friend" has also been self-described as "America's premier classics rider." Ok, so the guy does have some decent palmares: his wins at Ghent-Wevelgem a few seasons back and the GP Ouest France earlier this month were impressive, and he started this season off with a good win at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. Although I'd take exception with his description of an "very impressive win" at stage 15 in the Tour. It was impressive mainly for its classlessness.
But still, Hincapie has a point that he is a very fast man at the end of a 200 km race. But it is a far different story when the race is over the 250+ km distance where the real classics -- the Monuments -- are fought.
Quite simply, Hincapie does not have what it takes to be a good classics rider. What he lacks is the ability to take the race to his opponents, to ride proactively instead of reactively, to basically understand how the race is playing out and press his advantage. To put it more succinctly, he lacks tactical nous.
Consider the style of Tom Boonen, whose own emergence on the Classics scene game as a helper for Hincapie, who was clearly riding within his limits at Roubaix so as not to leave his erstwhile captain literally in his dust. Hincapie put an end to the sorry spectacle by riding ignomiously -- and all alone -- into a ditch. Unfortunately for Boonen, his release came to late that race to bridge up to the winning break.
In this year's edition of the Hell of the North, however, both men made it to the critical break. But for some unknowable reason, Hincapie did not attack Boonen. Instead, America's preier classics rider reckoned that he would take his chances in a three-up sprint with Boonen and Juan Antonio Flecha. That's right, Hincapie decided to go head-to-head in a sprint with one of the few riders in the pro peloton that can regularly challenge Pettachi and McEwen. Smart move. We have some Turtle Wax, Rice-a-Roni, and a home version of the Queen of the Classics for you as lovely parting gifts.
The contrast with Boonen's own win in the Tour of Flanders just one week before he schooled George in Roubaix could not have been more stark. Boonen was in the winning break with Andreas Klier, fellow fast man (still so at the end of a long classics race) Erik Zabel, and Flanders specialist Peter Van Petegem. Had the group arrived together at the finish, Boonen certainly would have had the advantage. But with two seasoned finishers, and Andreas Klier who also knew the route extremely well, Boonen did not wait for the attacks from the big men, and instead set out on his own. The next time Van Petegem and Co. saw him, it was on the victory podium.
Boonen, though, showed himself to be a gracious winner in Roubaix. When asked about the final break, he remarked that he wasn't worried that Hincapie would be dangerous in the finish. "I knew he would be nervous. He doesn't win much." He was nice enough to omit that "America's premier classics rider" doesn't know how to win the classics.
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Excellent analysis....
However I'm not as critical of Hincapie. Take the three races you mention: Flanders, Ghent-Wevelghem, and Paris-Roubaix. He missed the break entirely in Flanders because his team missed the break. Entirely Armstrong's fault.
He didn't ride Ghent, if I'm not mistaken, but that was a wild one, anyway. Mattan won it. But I will use your word and say that his victory was classless. Belgian, but classless.
In Paris Roubaix Hincapie knew he was beat at 10k to go. He reasoned, quite logically, that his battle was for 2nd, and that Cancellara was his mark. He stayed in and did what he could. But beating Boonen is liking beating Petacchi. And the only person to actually beat Petacchi in the past two years in a clean sprint is Rodriguez. And that was once, going slightly uphill. As it follows, the only person to beat Boonen is Petacchi. (So, by distributive logic, Rodriguez should be able to beat Boonen?). Okay, I'm clearly wrong on this one, but my point is still solid.
Anyway, excellent analysis and a pleasure to read. Keep up the good work.
However I'm not as critical of Hincapie. Take the three races you mention: Flanders, Ghent-Wevelghem, and Paris-Roubaix. He missed the break entirely in Flanders because his team missed the break. Entirely Armstrong's fault.
He didn't ride Ghent, if I'm not mistaken, but that was a wild one, anyway. Mattan won it. But I will use your word and say that his victory was classless. Belgian, but classless.
In Paris Roubaix Hincapie knew he was beat at 10k to go. He reasoned, quite logically, that his battle was for 2nd, and that Cancellara was his mark. He stayed in and did what he could. But beating Boonen is liking beating Petacchi. And the only person to actually beat Petacchi in the past two years in a clean sprint is Rodriguez. And that was once, going slightly uphill. As it follows, the only person to beat Boonen is Petacchi. (So, by distributive logic, Rodriguez should be able to beat Boonen?). Okay, I'm clearly wrong on this one, but my point is still solid.
Anyway, excellent analysis and a pleasure to read. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the comments, and the compliment.
The Ghent race I was referring to was the one Hincapie won in 2001, not this year's running (and yes, Mattan's win was cheap, but what was even more classless was that the Belgian officials would not DQ him in favor of the Spaniard Flecha). And I'm not criticizing Hincapie for his ride at Flanders -- personally I don't think he's well suited to that race, and doesn't seem to have ever seriously targeted it. Rather, I was just trying to contrast Boonen's approach to the classics with Hincapie's.
At the end of Roubaix, you're probably right on the calculation, but he still did chase down Flecha (Cancellara was in a chase a few minutes back) and bring Pettachi with him, it would have been smarter for Hincapie to let Boonen do the chase, but like Boonen said, he knew George was nervous. More generally, though, Hincapie too often seems to be content to ride for a high placing, rather than be willing to risk everything for the opportunity to win. I think it is this characteristic -- embodied in a willingness to take the race to your opponents -- that defines the men who will dominate the one day classics. And in this regard, Hincapie is clearly wanting.
At the same time, this is what Boonen did in Flanders (and in discussing that race, I was only trying to contrast the two riders' styles, not heap criticism on Hincapie for his ride there as well). Boonen would have been the favorite for a bunch sprint had his group arrived at the finish together, but he didn't even risk it. More likely, his plan was to attack Van Petegem and the T-Mobile duo before they could attack him. Had they been able to chase Boonen down, he would have seriously compromised his chances in a sprint against Zabel. But he was willing to take that gamble, and it paid dividends. (Ironically enough, Flanders was the first race where Zabel showed a willingness to attack -- previously he always rode classics looking for a bunch sprint, although he's been successful doing so.)
But I've never seen that kind of riding out of Hincapie. Even after his win at Plouay, he said his basic strategy was to follow Bettini's wheel. Not exactly taking the race to Bettini... or the style I'd expect from a "premier classics rider."
Anyway, thanks again for reading and I really appreciate the comments.
Cheers.
The Ghent race I was referring to was the one Hincapie won in 2001, not this year's running (and yes, Mattan's win was cheap, but what was even more classless was that the Belgian officials would not DQ him in favor of the Spaniard Flecha). And I'm not criticizing Hincapie for his ride at Flanders -- personally I don't think he's well suited to that race, and doesn't seem to have ever seriously targeted it. Rather, I was just trying to contrast Boonen's approach to the classics with Hincapie's.
At the end of Roubaix, you're probably right on the calculation, but he still did chase down Flecha (Cancellara was in a chase a few minutes back) and bring Pettachi with him, it would have been smarter for Hincapie to let Boonen do the chase, but like Boonen said, he knew George was nervous. More generally, though, Hincapie too often seems to be content to ride for a high placing, rather than be willing to risk everything for the opportunity to win. I think it is this characteristic -- embodied in a willingness to take the race to your opponents -- that defines the men who will dominate the one day classics. And in this regard, Hincapie is clearly wanting.
At the same time, this is what Boonen did in Flanders (and in discussing that race, I was only trying to contrast the two riders' styles, not heap criticism on Hincapie for his ride there as well). Boonen would have been the favorite for a bunch sprint had his group arrived at the finish together, but he didn't even risk it. More likely, his plan was to attack Van Petegem and the T-Mobile duo before they could attack him. Had they been able to chase Boonen down, he would have seriously compromised his chances in a sprint against Zabel. But he was willing to take that gamble, and it paid dividends. (Ironically enough, Flanders was the first race where Zabel showed a willingness to attack -- previously he always rode classics looking for a bunch sprint, although he's been successful doing so.)
But I've never seen that kind of riding out of Hincapie. Even after his win at Plouay, he said his basic strategy was to follow Bettini's wheel. Not exactly taking the race to Bettini... or the style I'd expect from a "premier classics rider."
Anyway, thanks again for reading and I really appreciate the comments.
Cheers.
Just wanted to say keep up the good work. It's great to read some intelligent opinions, instead of the usual "love Lance-hate Lance" diatribes.
Do you race? Where are you located? Your grammar and syntax are sharp, so you must be a writer.
Matt
Cat. 4, NYC
Do you race? Where are you located? Your grammar and syntax are sharp, so you must be a writer.
Matt
Cat. 4, NYC
# posted by 
: 5:13 PM
: 5:13 PM
Hey Matt,
Thanks for reading, and also the encouragement.
I used to race -- had a promising career as a Cat. IV domestique to the elite of Washington courier community. But those days are long behind me -- hence the name of the blog.
But just relocated to Princeton, and started riding again. Perhaps I'll even try collegiate racing in the spring. As long as I don't have to ride in the rain. Or cold. Or cold rain. Especially cold rain.
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Thanks for reading, and also the encouragement.
I used to race -- had a promising career as a Cat. IV domestique to the elite of Washington courier community. But those days are long behind me -- hence the name of the blog.
But just relocated to Princeton, and started riding again. Perhaps I'll even try collegiate racing in the spring. As long as I don't have to ride in the rain. Or cold. Or cold rain. Especially cold rain.
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