I always thought this about Hincapie; the guy was really a monster.
Edit: The decline of the US road scene is astounding; there is just NOTHING right now.
Edit: The decline of the US road scene is astounding; there is just NOTHING right now.
- Aug 13, 2011
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I wouldn’t say there’s nothing on the pro rider side. There is plenty of upcoming young talent and good older riders. Now for races and everything else, that is completely dead.
- Nov 16, 2013
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- Aug 6, 2014
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No idea, but I do know finishing 2nd in Tirreno trumps any victory in Boucles de la Mayenne or GB.
- Mar 13, 2009
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In the Covid year, there was a very weak field and only 4 stages.
@jono btw, the ranking was not based on who had how many wins. I have a strong feeling that WvA would overwhelmingly do better in GC in the Stage Races than MvdP if they were to consistently compete in the same races. That's all.
- Aug 6, 2010
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Very surprised at those results. I was purely a July fan during the Lance era. I had heard that 'Big George' was decent in the classics, but I didn't know to this level of high consistency (that's a lot of top 10's in PR and Flanders).
As a comparison though, I'd still say WVA slightly better in the classics (more podiums), slightly better in the high mountains, and obviously a stronger sprinter.
And Hincapie couldn't boss the Tour peloton around like WVA did at times last year, deciding single handedly who could go into breakaways (well Lance used to do that a bit too, but through the power of his personality rather than power on the pedals).
- Nov 16, 2013
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Yes, riders like Søren Kragh, Mads Pedersen, Sonny Colbrelli, Stefan Küng and Yves Lampaert are terrible riders for such a race.
Well, compared to previous years, I think it's a weaker field and most of the guys you listed came straight from TdF. While MvdP was fresh and in good shape prepared for the classics.
- Apr 13, 2021
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WVA didn't won a WT Stage race. VDP did, and he has won Flander twice and Roubiax. WVA won a Sanremo a points jersey, Denmark tour, Britain tour, Strade and some semi classics
- Nov 16, 2013
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As if that's a fair representation of Amstel, GW, E3 (two times), Omloop and Bretagne Classic.
- Aug 6, 2014
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I doubt you will find a better rider than Hincapie at protecting a GC rider in a stage race - He was a class above.
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- Aug 31, 2019
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As a big Hincapie fanboy back in the days I have to say I still believe he would’ve beaten Cancellara in the 2006 Roubaix if he didn’t crash when his bike collapsed.
Discovery Channel probably had 3 of the 5 strongest in that race but it all went to nothing. Hincapies bike collapsed and he crashed out. Hoste finished 2nd and Gusev 4th but got disqualified together with Van Petegem (3rd) because that closed train crossing.
And to the discussion. To call WVA the Belgium Hincapie is perhaps more fitting than the Belgium Pozzato. As rider types WVA is much more similar to Hincapie, Pozzato lacked any sort of relevant climbing and TT skills. Of course VWA is a bit better than Hincapie, but Hincapie was a great rider at the time.
Discovery Channel probably had 3 of the 5 strongest in that race but it all went to nothing. Hincapies bike collapsed and he crashed out. Hoste finished 2nd and Gusev 4th but got disqualified together with Van Petegem (3rd) because that closed train crossing.
And to the discussion. To call WVA the Belgium Hincapie is perhaps more fitting than the Belgium Pozzato. As rider types WVA is much more similar to Hincapie, Pozzato lacked any sort of relevant climbing and TT skills. Of course VWA is a bit better than Hincapie, but Hincapie was a great rider at the time.
They are kinda similar except that WVA can also win bunch sprints, which is a pretty big difference of course.
- Aug 31, 2019
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Yes, but Hincapie was a very competent bunch sprinter in the 90s. Atleast two times top 5 on Champs Elysees and in 1999 he was top 10 in 7 bunch sprints in le Tour. After that he stopped contesting these kind of sprints, at least in the Tour.
Reading some of the comments on this thread, all I will say is it's a good job Logic is currently banned.
- Jul 10, 2012
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Ridiculous that you think that scarecrow is even in the same ballpark as Contador. Do you seriously not see any differences?
Contador was the most exciting and explosive GT rider of his era. He didn't need a team to win and didn't even need to be in top form to make a race fun to watch. Ving actively makes races more boring.
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- Jul 10, 2012
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honestly, I'm fine with this. The talent pipeline seems to be working alright. MTB/CX in high school because it's fun, that competitive backdrop plus the use of power meters is sufficient for talent recognition. At that point development programs can take kids racing in Europe. We have a stronger crop of Americans now than we've had since the Lance era. The former American obsession with stage racing wasn't really serving us, producing mostly kids who were ok at pedaling but terrible at steering.
- Apr 30, 2011
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That's comparing a F1 race car with your uncle's new ride that is kind of fast when the road goes downhill.
It’s cool to see how much young U.S. talent there is coming into the pro peloton.
But as for “being fine with” I understand your point, but as a cycling fan I still wish there was a much bigger domestic road racing scene. And by that I mean road races, not crits. Going to cross races is the main source for live racing.
Not sure WVA was better in the high mountains. It's hard to compare because WVA often goes into breaks on those stages, allowing him to be able to help at the end, whereas Hincapie was often doing the first few km of the final climb before Rubiera took over.
Hincapie did have a few surprising GC results in races such as PN. Never thought he'd finish top 5 in PN
- Jan 22, 2010
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I'm a fan of Hincapie but I think this thread must have lost its way for him to be such a prominent name in this discussion.
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