Sep 5, 2006
Hincapie Rolls to Expected USPro Victory
The US Pro Championship Road Race was like a red carpet walk for George Hincapie. Riding in his new hometown of Greenville South Carolina the race was more of a George Hincapie party than a true US Pro Championships. Hincapie was basically escorted by future teammate Levi Leipheimer over a course that Big George rides on six to eight hours per day during the off season. Hmmm, was there some sort of favoritism in the mix when the venue was chosen? If Hincapie did not move to Greenville, South Carolina, would the US Pro Championships even setup shop in the small town of 50,000? The topper of this was that George’s wife Melanie was the podium girl which pretty much meant that the entire affair was a Hincapie party rather than a true race. I have no problem honoring racers of george’s calibre, but they should not have switched the US Pro Championships from a legendary venue in Philadelphia to the sleepy South Carolina town just to have Hincapie be honored.
Levi Leipheimer put in some early Discovery Channel team work as he helped pace Hincapie in the final laps. He sacrificed himself so that Big George can help Little Levi next July as Levi tries for another fifth place finish in Le Tour.