Hincapie Steps Out of Supporting Role

George Hincapie has ridden with Lance Armstrong through all of the Tour de France wins.

Hincapie has shepherded Armstrong through heat and cold, windy mountaintops and broiling blacktop, he has ridden first on Armstrong’s team or last, has always done what was asked. For six years, Hincapie has been the only constant teammate, always in the background as Armstrong broke cycling records and made history.

Sunday, with the temperature climbing to 96 degrees, with six mountains to climb, with hundreds of thousands of Basque fans swarming the roads wearing bright orange shirts and howling for any Spaniard in the race, Hincapie created the greatest day of his cycling career.

Outsprinting Spain’s Oscar Pereiro in the last 250 meters, Hincapie won his first stage at the Tour and became only the eighth American in history to do so. Hincapie, 32, finished the 127.7-mile ride in the Pyrenees in 6 hours 6 minutes 38 seconds, and when he crossed the finish line, Hincapie put his hands over his face.

“This is one for the ages,” Hincapie said. “It wasn’t planned. All I wanted to do was set the pace for Lance. I’m in disbelief.”

Hincapie and Pereiro had to forge a trail through the hordes of fans that covered the narrow road. At one point, a motorcycle carrying a television cameraman flattened a young man.

“It was surreal,” Hincapie said.

Armstrong and Italy’s Ivan Basso finished together, 5:04 behind Hincapie. Armstrong, 33 and aiming for his seventh consecutive Tour victory before he retires, is first overall. Basso, a CSC rider who finished third last year, moved into second, 2:46 behind Armstrong. Danish climbing expert Mickael Rasmussen dropped from second to third and is 3:09 behind the leader. Armstrong’s nemesis, 1997 Tour winner Jan Ullrich, dropped an additional 1:24 to Armstrong and is fourth, 5:58 behind. Two other Americans -- Levi Leipheimer of Gerolsteiner and Floyd Landis of Phonak -- are sixth and seventh.

Basso echoed the mood of the peloton -- that Sunday’s massive climbing stage was the last realistic chance for Armstrong’s pursuers to gain significant time on him.

“I felt really good today,” Basso said. “I tried to drop Lance, but he was simply too strong. If you attack, it has to be with a purpose, and after having tried it twice, I realized that Lance was unbeatable.”

Hincapie could hardly contain his emotions at the end. He disappeared into a hug from Johan Bruyneel, Discovery Channel’s sports director. Armstrong pounded his friend on the back five times and later said that Hincapie was “my best friend, my most loyal friend” on the team.

Armstrong’s day had begun with a poignant meeting with the widow and son of rider Fabio Casartelli. Ten years ago, Casartelli, riding with Armstrong on the U.S. team Motorola, was killed in a crash up Col du Portet d’Aspet. The same climb was the first of six Sunday, and many riders, including Armstrong and Hincapie, rode with white bands around their arms in honor of Casartelli.

“You have to keep in mind that in 1995 Fabio was the last guy, the ninth guy, selected to the team, and the guy next in line was George,” Armstrong said. “So this is special for me, it’s special for George, it’s special for Fabio’s family.”

Armstrong and Hincapie plan to attend a small memorial service for Casartelli today at the spot where the Italian died. On Sunday, Hincapie was already in the lead group when it arrived at that dangerous place.

It wasn’t the plan for him to go to the lead early and still be leading at the end, Hincapie said.

“I just thought I would wait for Lance when he needed me,” he said. “But once we got an 18-minute break, I spoke to Johan and he told me the peloton probably wouldn’t be coming back and just told me to go for it. From then on, I was just thinking about going for the win.”

Hincapie, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound New Yorker who married one of the podium girls (the young women who present stage winners with their flowers and with kisses on the cheek), said his first Tour stage win was the most important of his career.

Armstrong said that if he could have picked one rider to win Sunday, it would have been Hincapie.

“I’m not interested in winning stages this year,” Armstrong said. “I’m interested in winning my seventh Tour de France. George, he’s doing some things this year that haven’t been seen in a while.” Armstrong then listed Hincapie’s second-place finish in the Paris-Roubaix race, climbing over the monstrous Galibier this Tour with the leaders and winning at the summit in Stage 15, as reminiscent of legends Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault.

Hincapie was part of a small group that broke away about 18 miles into the stage. With Armstrong handling the small attacks of Basso, Ullrich, Rasmussen and Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakshtan, Hincapie was freed to go for individual glory.

This stage ended with a six-mile climb to the top of this ski resort. With about two miles left, only Hincapie and Pereiro were left at the front. Although Hincapie isn’t known as a climbing specialist, he said he has worked hard at that aspect of the sport.

Armstrong and Hincapie met when the two were teenagers nearly 20 years ago. “The first race we did together,” Hincapie said, “I asked him what his tactics were. He said he was going from the gun and he was going to win. I said, ‘You can’t do that,’ and he did.”

That’s how it has been since. Armstrong going, Hincapie finishing up behind. Until Sunday. At the end of the hardest stage of this Tour, it was Armstrong coming in from behind and Hincapie waiting.