THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Hincapie wins Dauphiné prologue
Discovery Channel's George Hincapie has won the prologue of the 57th editionof the Dauphiné Libéré, a 7.9-kilometer individual time trial in Aix-les-Bains.
Hincapie surprised prologue specialists with a winning time of 9:55 for the 7.9km individual time trial held in hot temperatures in the historic spa town.
Four Americans broke into the top five on Sunday, with Hincapie besting Gerolsteiner's Levi Leipheimer by one second. Phonak's Floyd Landis took fourth, bettering Hincapie's teammate Lance Armstrong by one second.
Andrey Kashechkin, of Credit Agricole, upstaged his Kazakh compatriot Alexandre Vinokourov, of T-Mobile, by finishing in third to complete a podium in which all the riders were alone in finishing under the 10-minute mark.
Vinokourov, a possible challenger to Armstrong in the Tour de France this July, finished in 12th at 14secs behind Hincapie.
Armstrong, riding the crucial seven-stage Tour de France warm-up ahead of his bid for a seventh yellow jersey in July, finished fifth at six seconds behind his long-time teammate and friend Hincapie - who is more known for his one-day classics riding.
Armstrong later revealed that one of his feet unclipped from one of his pedals as he rode up the tough 1.9km climb which the 160-strong field had to negotiate immediately.Full Results
"I'm not really specialized in prologue any more," said Armstrong, who is planning to retire from cycling after the Tour de France. "Today I was conservative in the climb, and then there was a lot of headwind in the finish. But that's okay."
Hincapie was a second ahead of Leipheimer and three ahead of Kashechkin. Landis was timed in 10 minutes and Armstrong in 10:01.
"That's the first time I've beaten Lance in a time trial," Hincapie said. "It's very special for me."
Armstrong said he was not disappointed with his own performance.
"It's a short explosive effort and when you get old, you know what happens," he said. "In the last few years I didn't do good prologues. The prologue of the last Tour was an exception. I had a super day that day."
He praised Hincapie as a versatile rider.
"It was a good course for him with a hard climb, tricky downhill," Armstrong said. "He's very good in the bike, very fast on the downhill."
Two riders - Isidro Nozal of the Liberty Seguros and Michele Scotto d'Abusco of Lampre-Caffita - were banned from the race after failing blood tests. Nozal finished in seventh place at the Vuelta a Espana last September and 73rd at the Tour de France.
Monday's first stage is a mostly flat 139-mile route from Aix-les-Bains to Givors. Later in the week, there will be testing mountain ascents, including the revered Mont Ventoux on Thursday.
Climbing is traditionally one of Armstrong's strong points. His rivals most likely will have a good indication of his form after Mont Ventoux.
"I have a lot of respect and fear for that mountain," Armstrong said. "I better keep it like that." Wednesday's 47km individual race against the clock should also be more to Armstrong's liking, and he added: "That will be different. It's not the same type of effort or the same average speed." Armstrong is bidding for a seventh consecutive yellow jersey on the July 2-24 Tour and the Dauphine, which he has won in 2002 and 2003, will tell him, and the world, exactly where his form is.
Having announced his retirement two months ago, the Tour's biggest champion will perhaps come under the spotlight this year more than most. Sunday's performance seems to indicate his preparation is right on track.
Full Results Top five
1. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery, 9:55
2. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Gerolsteiner, 9:56
3. Andrey Kashechkin (Kz), Crédit Agricole, 9:58
4. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak 10:00
5. Lance Armstrong (USA), Discovery,: 10:01
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