THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Hincapie protects Missouri lead as Leipheimer wins TT
The rollercoaster ride that is George Hincapie's cycling career took a decidedly upward turn on Thursday, as the American posted a solid sixth-place effort in the Tour of Missouri's stage 3 time trial. Hincapie was more than two minutes back of teammate and stage winner Levi Leipheimer, but he put time into all the other members of Wednesday's decisive 12-man breakaway, and now has a commanding lead in the overall standings of this six-day, 600-mile race that ends Sunday in St. Louis.
Hincapie, winner of stage 2 into Springfield, was the last man out of the start house for the 18-mile time trial in and around Branson that was described by several riders as more hill climb than traditional race against the clock. No matter for Big George. He rocketed his way around the course, expanding his previously slim GC lead to a comfortable 1:40 ahead of American Will Frischkorn (Slipstream), with Spaniard David Cañada (Prodir-Saunier Duval) in third at 2:22.
“I didn't have one of my best TTs, but I'm confident I can take it to the end,” said Hincapie of his prospects for overall victory. “We still have a lot of hard work ahead of us. [Frischkorn and Slipstream have] got to attack, but at the same time you can lose your spots if you're not careful.”
Slipstream team director Jonathan Vaughters conceded as much after stage 3, saying he was satisfied with what his team had accomplished here in Missouri.Full results
"It's been a great race for us already," said Vaughters, whose team now holds second (Will Frischkorn) and fifth overall (Mike Friedman), as well as the top spot in the best young rider competition (Steven Cozza) and the overall team classification. "A week before the race we knew yesterday was going to pan out the way it did. We put two guys in the break and because of that we've got a podium position, best young rider and team GC."
Meanwhile, it was Leipheimer scoring another big result in what is by far the best year of the California resident's career. Just as he did at the Tours of California, Georgia and France, the Discovery Channel rider bested the competition in a race of truth, posting a 39:37. That was 16 seconds better than Aussie TT ace Nathan O'Neill (Health Net-Maxxis), the only other rider in the 112-man field to go under 40 minutes. Only 107 of those riders will take the start Friday after five finished outside the TT time cut.
“It was definitely a hard course,” said Leipheimer. “The thing about today was that you needed to now when to push and when not to push. I don't know if you can call them climbs, compared to something like the Tour de Georgia where there was a steep wall. But they were definitely bigger than rollers. There was one moment when it was so fast coming down the hill that I just stopped pedaling and tried to tuck. I noticed that when I was catching riders that I would catch some riders on the climb, then kind of stall when I was on the downhills. It wasn't my best day, but I was still able to win, so that's pretty cool.”
Not so cool, according to Leipheimer, were the bike set-up changes the UCI is demanding. Cycling’s international governing body was out in force in Branson confirming that riders were abiding by the rule that says TT bar extensions must be parallel to the ground.
“I was forced to change it the day before the Tour de France [prologue],” recalled a clearly annoyed Leipheimer. “It's very frustrating because they can't give a real reason why. They said it creates a force on your elbow. But I don't think they've ever been on a time-trial bike.“
Matti Helminen (DFL-Cyclingnews-Litespeed) was the surprise of the day, taking the final place on the podium, 1:27 behind Leipheimer. The reigning Finnish time trial champion came to Missouri to ride for the GC. But two consecutive days of bad luck — Helminen lost three minutes after double flatting with two laps to go on stage 1, then his team missed the decisive break on stage 2 — things turned around for Helminen, who held the TT lead for most of the day before Leipheimer and O'Neill bumped him to third.
Ben Day (Navigators), at 1:32, and Danny Pate (Slipstream), at 2:04, rounded out the TT top five.
“I was here a couple of weeks ago [doing course reconnaissance] and immediately I thought, 'Yeah, this is a good one for me,'” said second-placed O’Neill. “But it was a hard course. The heat was definitely a factor today. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to soft-pedal, nowhere to recover.”
Reigning Tour de France champion Alberto Contador was 10th in Branson, stopping the clock in 42:34.
Hincapie vaulted into overall contention at this first running of the Tour of Missouri during stage 2's southerly run from Clinton to Springfield. After facing some initial resistance from the field, the 12-rider break grew an advantage that crested to more than 17 minutes before coming down only slightly to 14:17. That meant the race for the GC was down to a dozen, and the Discovery rider was the overwhelming favorite to emerge victorious from the group.
A day later, Hincapie held up under race-favorite pressure. After a morning reconnaissance ride with his team, the lanky American rolled out of the start house that was situated along the upscale Branson Landing outdoor shopping district that sits on the banks Lake Taneycomo (previously known as the White River before it was dammed on both ends). Hincapie was never a real threat to break into the top three, but he caught his two-minute man and looked solid all the way to the finish, posting a 41:44.
An overall win at his last race in Discovery kit would go a long way in easing the pain of a tumultuous two-year run that's included untimely crashes at Paris-Roubaix, the Eneco Tour and this year's Tour of California. Most recently Hincapie was unseated by Leipheimer, who took away the U.S. national champion's jersey at Hincapie’s hometown race in Greenville, South Carolina.
In August Discovery Channel announced that it had not found a replacement sponsor for 2008 and would disband. Hincapie had previously signed with T-Mobile for next year, while Leipheimer's future plans are still unknown.
"I still haven't made up my mind," Leipheimer said on Thursday, adding that he was fine with ceding the Missouri spotlight to his teammate. "[The decisive stage 2 breakaway] was okay because normally George is the best time trialist in the break. I've won a lot this year, so as long as someone on our team wins that's good for us, especially George because he hasn't had the greatest year."
Barring another major mishap, it certainly looks like that will change.
The road aheadNext up at the Tour of Missouri is Friday's 133.4-mile, stage 4 ride from Lebanon to Columbia. Racing starts at 10:30 a.m. local; estimated finish is 3:40 p.m. After spending the night in Springfield, the race caravan will make a 90-minute transfer drive north to agricultural hub of Lebanon. Racers will then snake through towns such as Guthrie, Ulman and Jefferson City on their way to the college town of Columbia. This is the longest stage of the race and potentially the most difficult because of the near constant rolling hills in the second half of the course.
Results, Stage 3
1. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Discovery, 39:37
2. Nathan O'Neill (Aus), Health Net, 0:16
3. Matti Helminen (FIN), DFL, 1:27
4. Ben Day (Aus), Navigators, 1:32
5. Danny Pate (USA), Slipstream, 2:04
6. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery, 2:07
7. Timmy Duggan (USA), Slipstream, 2:31
8. Darren Lill (RSA), Navigators, 2:39
9. Rory Sutherland (Aus), Health Net, 2:55
10. Alberto Contador (Sp), Discovery, 2:57
FullResultsOverall, after Stage 3
1. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery, 8:22:34
2. William Frischkorn (USA), Slipstream, 1:40
3. David Canada (Sp), Saunier Duval, 2:22
4. Dominique Rollin (CAN), KodakGallery, 2:23
5. Michael Friedman (USA), Slipstream, 2:48
6. Frank Pipp (USA), Health Net, 2:57
7. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr), Navigators, 3:04
8. Andrew Randell (CAN), Symmetrics, 3:48
9. Stefan Parinussa (G), Sparkasse, 4:20
10. Matthew Rice (Aus), Jelly Belly, 6:21
To see how today's stage developed, simply CLICKHERE to open our Live Update Window and then check back soon for more photos and a detailed stage report.
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