(Update: “Trek Bikes explains Hincapie crash; cyclist won't need surgery“)
“The Race to Replace” is taking a detour as cyclist George Hincapie returns to the US for surgery on his shoulder.
“We don't know yet how long Hincapie will be out of competition,” Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team director Dirk Demol told Belgian media, according to CyclingNews. “It's a severe injury, that's for sure.”
Hincapie crashed about 28 miles from the end of the 160-mile classic that winds through northern France, in places on narrow, cobblestone roads. The steering tube snapped on his modified Trek 5200 and he went over the handlebars.
The 32-year-old bicycle racer from South Carolina was taken to a hospital in Roubaix, where X-rays were taken.
“George has a separated shoulder,” said team sports manager Johan Bruyneel. “It's not fractured but it has separated from the articulation. He's flying back to the USA and will have to have surgery soon.”
The race-ending crash for Hincapie was his second of the day. Hincapie was involved in a minor bicycle crash earliere, which Bruyneel said might have set the stage for the later mechanical failure.
“Section after section the vibrations just kept coming till the steerer tube just came apart and sheered off right under the stem,” Bruyneel told The Paceline.
Meanwhile, CyclingNews reports that Trek is sending the damaged fork back to its headquarters for a thorough examination. Shortly before the crash, Hincapie reportedly told team officials that his headset felt loose. They were looking for a good point to switch back when the steering tube cracked.
The Race to Replace
The Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team has been searching for a titular head ever since Lance Armstrong retired with a victory at the end of the 2005 Tour de France.
The Discovery Channel hyped the decision as “the Race to Replace.” Hincapie was a leading contender; others included last year's Giro d'Italia overall winner Paolo Savoldelli (Italy) and Yaroslov Popovych (Ukraine), judged the Best Young Rider in the 2005 Tour de France.
Hincapie and Savoldelli each won tour stages last year. Considering the training necessary to compete in July's Tour de France, Hincapie's injury certainly calls into question his ability to compete at 100% in the race.
It may not be a factor, though, as we all remember Tyler Hamilton's heroic effort as he bicycled with a broken collarbone during a previous Tour de France.
Disco's DQ's
In an interview on The Paceline (free registration), Bruyneel said the team is appealing the disqualification of two cyclists for going under a railroad gate. The DQ robbed Discovery of a 2nd place finish.
“The rules are there and in the heat of the moment you have to act by judgement. But Paris-Roubaix doesn’t deserve a finish like that. So we keep fighting. We'll file a complaint with the UCI because the rules have to be the same for everyone. The guys in 2nd-4th place went through and no one stopped them. Then Boonen, Flecha, and Ballan had to stop as the train came through, but then they went through as well afterwards with the gates down and the red light flashing – there could have been another train coming right behind, so 5th-7th also broke the rules. What was the judge going to do? Disqualify them too? “
The Paceline has photos of Hincapie and family arriving at the Atlanta airport.
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