American cyclist George Hincapie found out what he can do in the Tour de France as he rode into the yellow jersey on the second day of the three-week race.
Disappointed on Saturday at finishing a split second behind the winner in the prologue, Hincapie on Sunday won a 2-second time bonus at an intermediate sprint 9 kilometers from the finish on the 115-mile race around Strasbourg.
The bonus gave him the advantage he needed as the peloton, except for stage winner Jimmy Casper of Cofidis, all got the same time at the mass sprint finish.
“The yellow jersey in the Tour de France is as big as anything,” Hincapie said.
Hincapie, a member of the Discovery Channel pro cycling team, becomes only the fourth American to ever wear the yellow jersey as overall leader of the Tour de France. The others are Greg LeMond, Lance Armstrong and Dave Zabriskie.
Thor Hushovd, the Norwegian cyclist who won the yellow jersey in the prologue, finished in the top 10 in Strasbourg, but received the same time as everyone else in the sprint. A member of the Credit Agricole team, he was seen writhing on the ground in pain from a cut on his arm after the finish.
(Eurosport reports that he scraped a spectator's camera, hidden from view behind a green novelty hand, just before finish line. A member of the Tour medical team reports the cut was deep, but not serious. He was taken to the hospital for treatment.)
Not only did Hincapie take the overall lead, but two other Americans — Dave Zabriskie (Team CSC) and Floyd Landis (Phonak) remain listed in the Top 10 overall.
Hincapie's new role
Hincapie, 33, is one of the most experienced cyclists in the peloton, as this is his 10th Tour. For the past 7 of those races, his top job has been to ensure that teammate Armstrong would win the championship.
No longer the domestique, Hincapie said after Saturday's race: “This is the first year I'm going to try and see what I can do.”
It's unclear who had the idea for taking the sprint bonus — Hincapie or the team's expert tactician and team manager, Johan Bruyneel. In any case, it appeared to surprise just about everyone, except for a Credit Agricole rider who beat him in the sprint, limiting Hincapie's time bonus to just 2 seconds.
That 2 seconds was all that Hincapie needed to take the overall lead, however.
Next step for Discovery
What's next for the Discovery team? With Armstrong retired, team manager Bruyneel said they'd wait until the Tour before identifying the cyclist for the team to support.
In spite of Discovery's “Race to Replace” promotion, Bruyneel has said, “The real race to replace is the Tour de France.”
Hincapie took a big step to making himself the winner of that race today.
The race was marked by an early breakaway by 7 riders — including 5 Frenchmen — who gained as much as 4 1/2 minutes before being swallowed up by the peloton in the last 4 or 5 miles.
The top 10 are:
1. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel
2. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricol, 2 seconds behind
3. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, 6 seconds
4. Sebastian Lang (G), Gerolsteiner, 6 seconds
5. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, 6 seconds
6. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), CSC, 6 seconds
7. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, 8 seconds
8. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Discovery, 10 seconds
9. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, 11 seconds
10. Benoit Vaugrenard (Fr) Francaise des Jeux, 11 seconds
For more news and results, see CyclingNews and VeloNews.
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