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| Hincapie and Armstrong share a laugh while riding for team Discovery. |
Hincapie, who turns 38 this summer, already holds the record for the most Tour appearances by an American, with 15 through 2010. Others who match that mark include Viatcheslav Ekimov, Lucien Van Impe and Guy Nulens. Joop Zoetemelk holds the record with 16 Tours, between 1970 and 1986, finishing all 16 he started. Hincapie is expected to start his 16th Tour this July, but he abandoned his first. If he retired in 2012 with “one last Tour,” that would put him on track for a record of 17 starts in the Tour.
Hincapie is not waxing poetic about his cycling career just yet, and says his move to BMC in 2010 has helped him stay motivated and hungry despite the demands of professional cycling.
“I am just really excited about this team, it came from being a small team, they were sort of courting me, giving me the two-three year plan to become a ProTour team, then all of sudden we hired guys like Cadel, it just skyrocketed,” Hincapie said. “What Jim (Ochowicz) and Andy (Rihs) sort of presented to me happened a lot quicker. For me to be part of that has been a special deal, I would like to see it through as long as possible. I still feel good, I feel like I can give a lot to the team as far as racing goes, I still enjoy doing it.”
Hincapie remains one of the most respected riders in the pack, especially among a new generation of Americans moving up through the ranks. Hincapie has taken on the role as elder statesman and mentor to younger pros and often plays host to riders at his home in South Carolina looking for mild off-season weather conditions. He regularly trains with Craig Lewis and saw visits this winter from Ted King and others. “I like (helping young riders). When I was getting started, I had guys like Sean Yates, Steve Bauer and Phil Anderson who really took me under their wing. It was really special to me and it helped me a lot,” he said, adding that he vows to return the favor. “I know how hard this sport is when you get thrown into the pro peloton. The racing gets exponentially harder real fast.”
Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.
