THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
By George! Hincapie wins another at Dauphiné; Landaluze takes overall
George Hincapie put an emphatic exclamation point on what’s been a fête américaine during this year’s Dauphiné Libéré, winning Sunday’s exciting finale after a dramatic two-man breakaway with Discovery Channel teammate and protégé Yaroslav Popovych.
Basque bomber Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel-Euskadi) hung on during the fast-paced 128km seventh stage to claim the 57th Dauphiné crown by a slender margin of 11 seconds to Santiago Botero (Phonak) while Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) finished third overall at 38 seconds back for his first major podium since his breakthrough at the 2001 Vuelta a España.
Six-time Tour king Lance Armstrong was third in the stage to make it a sweep for Discovery Channel, earning them the team classification and a huge boost of morale with less a month to go to the Tour de France.
The 31-year-old Hincapie capped a great Dauphiné performance that also included victory in the opening prologue in Aix-les-Bains.
“When I did well in the prologue, I told Johan I want to take advantage of my form and go for some stages,” said Hincapie, who held up two fingers as he crossed the line.
“It couldn’t have gone any better. To win two stages, this Dauphiné has gone awesome for me and I’m very happy.”
Hincapie, Popovych in big win
Sunday’s finale concluded on a circuit course with seven climbs over the short but very steep Cat. 3 Côte de Domancy above Sallanches. The climb was part of the epic 1980 world championships course won by Bernard Hinault and provided the fitting climax for what’s been a titillating Dauphiné right from the gun.
But it was the relatively easy Cat. 4 Côte St-Sigismond – or more specifically the descent – that proved decisive on the day. A group of 25 riders led by the hard-charging Christophe Moreau (Credit Agricole) tore away early. With all the favorites present, it looked like the break was going nowhere when Popovych tried his luck near the summit.
Smelling an opportunity, Hincapie shot out to join his newest teammate. The two barreled down the long, 10km twisting descent and opened up a gap on the regrouped bunch.
“No, the attack wasn’t planned. Popovych went and I saw that our group was very tired, so I took a chance. We got 10 seconds and on the descent, we went as hard as we could,” Hincapie said. “I think I’m a very good descender, but I’m pretty impressed with Popovych and he was right there with me. Once we got onto the circuit, it was extremely hard for us. We went hard as we could and we worked well together.”
Hincapie and Popovych hit the first lap on the circuit with two minutes on the main bunch. In the back, Landaluze was fighting to keep his jersey under pressure from Botero and Leipheimer, but with two Discovery riders up the road, Armstrong wasn’t about to take a pull.
“It’s not often I get to sit in the lead group and not have to do any work. I kind of liked it,” said Armstrong, who won the points jersey for his efforts. “I told the other guys, ‘Sorry guys, I can’t work.’”
Hincapie and Popovych saw their lead dwindle to 1:48 with two laps to go and then fall to 1:16 on the bell lap. It looked like it might be enough, but Hincapie wasn’t sure.
“We were going as hard as we could. We wanted to get to the top of the hill with at least 20 seconds. The main thing was to stay together,” he said.
Coming into the finish, Hincapie slipped ahead to take the victory, his third on the season and his second at the Dauphiné.
The New Yorker is the only man to be on all six of Armstrong’s Tour-winning teams and now he’s preparing to begin working for a new team leader next season with Popovych.
“In the end, Popovych knows that next year I’ll be working for him at the Tour de France and maybe it was better than I won the stage today,” said Hincapie. “I don’t consider July racing for me. My job is just to stay with Lance and there are no real personal ambitions. It’s a team ambition. For me to win two stages in the Dauphine is a big deal.”
Levi wonders what could have been
With Hincapie and Popovych up the road, the real battle for the overall prize was going down with each passing climb up the Domancy. With an average grade of 10 percent up 2.5km of sun-baked French asphalt, the climb was sure to splinter the peloton. That proved true, as nearly half the bunch abandoned on the day, leaving just 78 finishers.
With each lap, Landaluze was getting worn down, but showing incredible fortitude to battle back on. The lead group was soon whittled to eight riders, with most of the work falling to the two who had the most to gain: Botero and Leipheimer.
Armstrong had already said he wouldn’t be working while T-Mobile’s Alexandre Vinokourov seemed uninterested in pulling hard to tow his ex-teammate Botero into the yellow jersey.
At the bell lap, Landaluze was 21 seconds down on the Botero-Leipheimer group, something the Gerolsteiner captain couldn’t believe.
“It was a hard race today. I don’t understand how Landaluze didn’t lose. Every time we dropped him on each climb, then he came back each time, he must have had a lot of friends out there,” said Leipheimer, who finished sixth at 22 seconds back. “We really turned it on on the hill and he was gone and I thought there’s no way. We were five or six of us rolling through perfectly, he still wins the race.”
Leipheimer leaves the Dauphiné very satisfied in terms of the longer view toward the Tour de France. He proved his climbing and time trialing abilities are improved from last year and that he’s ready to challenge for a top spot come July.
But when he looks back at the Dauphiné, he admits he let the race slip through his hands when Landaluze was allowed to escape into the yellow jersey in the transition stage to Grenoble on Friday.
“Definitely, we made a mistake,” he said. “I know I could have won the race, there’s no doubt in my mind. I think I was the strongest guy here and I’m not afraid to say that.”
Leipheimer just missed winning two stages, losing the prologue to Hincapie and the long time trial to Botero, each time by less than one second.
While he will undoubtedly regret his bad luck at the Dauphiné, he walks away satisfied with his performance and with a big boost of confidence going into the Tour.
“Finishing on the podium is great. I’ve got to be happy with two days in the yellow, with the way I’ve climbed, the way I’ve time trialed,” he said. “Now I am going to go home and take a big rest. I’m not going to worry about gaining anymore fitness, it’s just a matter of maintaining the fitness I already have.”
Landaluze hangs on
Landaluze was doing his best against the odds.
“Every lap I went at my own rhythm, I would get dropped, fight to come back, by the bell lap, I knew I had to go full-gas,” he said. “I gave it everything on that last lap. When I heard the differences, something like 30 seconds, I went as hard as I could on the descent.”
All three remaining Euskaltel riders abandoned, meaning Landaluze was a one-man team in more ways than one. Botero was doing his utmost to make up the final ticks of the clock on the descent to Sallanches.
“We tried to attack and drop him, but he always came back. We went really hard in the final three laps, but he was getting some help from others,” said Botero. “Vinokourov had nothing left, Armstrong wasn’t helping because he had riders up front, I gave all I could. It wasn’t by luck Landaluze won. He held on and he deserves it.”
The 28-year-old Basque rider came through 12th at 1:00 back, just enough to win the race by 11 seconds. It’s his first win as a professional.
“This is the happiest day of my career,” said Landaluze, who nearly won a stage in last year’s Tour de France. “I came here looking to do something in a stage, specifically the stage to Grenoble, but after I rode well up the Ventoux, I started to change my way of thinking. With the high level of racing here, this has been like the Tour, I’m very proud to have won here.”
STAGE 7 Results
1. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, 3:07:10
2. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr), Discovery Channel
3. Lance Armstrong (USA), Discovery Channel, 0:22
4. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz), T-Mobile
5. Santiago Botero (Col), Phonak
6. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Gerolsteiner
7. David Moncoutie (F), Cofidis, 0:24
8. Wim Van Huffel (B), Davitamon-Lotto
9. Jose Gomez Marchante (Sp), Saunier Duval, 0:45
10. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Illes Balears, 0:59
OVERALL RESULTS
1. Inigo Landaluze (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 28:24:46
2. Santiago Botero (Col), Phonak, 0:11
3. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Gerolsteiner, 0:38
4. Lance Armstrong (USA), Discovery Channel, 0:59
5. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz), T-Mobile, 1:02
6. David Moncoutie (F), Cofidis, 1:56
7. Jose Gomez Marchante (Sp), Saunier Duval, 3:54
8. Marzio Bruseghin (I), Fassa Bortolo, 3:58
9. Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz), Credit Agricole, 5:04
10. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Illes Balears, 6:20
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