The Tour of Benelux ended on Wednesday in a finish more reminiscent of a roller derby match. Stefan Schumacher swung into the path of George Hincapie about 60 yards from the finish line, nicking Hincapie's front wheel and sending him crashing to the ground.
Awarded a time bonus, Schumacher made up his three-second deficit and beat Hincapie by one second in the Tour of Benelux, an eight-day stage race through Belgium and the Netherlands.
VeloNews says the “erratic riding” warrants review by a race jury.
Hincapie angrily sat on the ground and watched Schumacher finish the stage in third place. Apparently Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) swung wide to miss fans that were leaning over the barriers.
Dirk Demol, assistant sports manager for Discovery, is quoted on The Paceline fan site:
“It was clear that Schumacher was touched and we know that he did not do that on purpose. But he stayed on his bike and 'won' the race. I think they should either have disqualified him or nullified the time bonuses. The bottom line is that it was clear he crashed George out, if he had not, George wins the race. And so we will protest to the UCI but we'll have to wait and see what happens; that takes time …”
Belgian cyclist Phillippe Gilbert of Française des Jeux won the stage; Schumacher finished in third place two seconds later. The third place finish gave him a four-second time bonus that put him one second ahead of Hincapie in the overall race; Hincapie was awarded the same time as Schumacher, minus the time bonus.
For Hincapie of the Discovery Channel team, it was another bad finish to an otherwise great race. Gaining the leader's claret-colored jersey in the individual time trial on Sunday, the American held the lead on Monday and Tuesday and appeared destined for victory as he and his team controlled the final mountainous stage of the race.
Says Demol:
“It's very tough for George, of course. We all think he would have and should have won. And it's also tough for the entire team. The boys totally controlled things since the Time Trial and worked very hard, and then to come so close. George was not only strong but confident – he knew he could beat Schumacher and all the others. George feels like they stole the race from him and he feels really terrible for the team since they worked so hard for him. Another second place – it's really hard…”
Seeing Hincapie sitting there on the pavement reminds me of the Paris-Roubaix earlier this year, when Hincapie's handlebar stem broke and he crashed, seriously injuring his collarbone.
It has certainly been a season of highs and lows for the Greenville, South Carolina, cyclist. In addition to winning the time trial on Sunday, Hincapie won two stages of the Tour of California, finished second in the Tour de France prologue, and wore the yellow jersey for one day at the Tour, becoming only the fourth American to do so. But then, there have been the crashes, neither of which can be laid to Hincapie.
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