Hincapie discovers first stage victory
SAINT-LARY-SOULAN, France – As Lance Armstrong prepared for what may be hardest stage of the Tour de France, the widow of a former teammate killed in a crash a decade ago told him to go for the win.
That was the only thing that didn’t work out for Armstrong Sunday, which he called “a perfect day.”
Armstrong settled for watching his most loyal teammate, genial New Yorker George Hincapie, pedal to victory high in the Pyrenees – his first individual stage victory in the Tour and the first by one of Armstrong’s support riders.
And, taking care of business, Armstrong solidified his overall race lead in the brutal 15th stage – staying on track to retire with a seventh consecutive Tour victory next Sunday.
At the finish, the two riders – friends since they were teenagers – hugged and Armstrong gave a thumbs-up.
“This is a dream for me,” the 32-year-old Hincapie said. “I’m really in a state of shock.”
The 33-year-old Armstrong called Hincapie “my biggest guy, my biggest friend on the team.”
“We’ve been riding together since we were 17,” said Armstrong, who finished seventh. “The guy is one of the best riders in cycling. Period. I’m so proud of him.”
In the sun-baked 127.7-mile trek up six mountain climbs, Hincapie joined a group of riders that broke away from the main pack, which included Armstrong.
Hincapie said he went with that group thinking that Armstrong would catch up to him later in the stage. But the breakaway group built a lead of more than 18 minutes. At that point, Armstrong’s team manager gave Hincapie the green light to ride for himself.
Hincapie and Oscar Pereiro, having shaken off the rest of their group, fought for the victory on the final and hardest climb to the Pla d’Adet ski station above the Pyrenean town of Saint-Lary-Soulan.
There, Hincapie beat the Spaniard with a sprint finish, shaking his head in disbelief as he crossed the line.
“To win a stage in the Tour de France is special, but to win a stage like this which is arguably the hardest stage of the Tour is a big, big accomplishment. He deserves it,” Armstrong said.
Hincapie’s time was 6 hours, 6 minutes, 38 seconds. Pereiro was 6 seconds back. Three other members of their breakaway group placed third, fourth and fifth.
Behind them, Armstrong again held off his strongest rivals – Italian Ivan Basso and German Jan Ullrich. Basso was sixth, with Armstrong right behind. They both finished 5 minutes and 4 seconds behind Hincapie. The effort moved Basso up to second in the overall standings, but he still trails Armstrong by 2:46.
Mickael Rasmussen of Denmark, who had been second overall, 1:41 back, fell to third, now 3:09 behind Armstrong.
The riders passed a monument marking the spot where Fabio Casartelli, Armstrong’s former teammate, fell and died on July 18, 1995. Casartelli, the 1992 Olympic road race champion, suffered head injuries in the crash after completing the difficult Col du Portet d’Aspet climb. He was traveling about 53 mph.