| | By George Hincapie
Special to ABC Sports Online
Greenville, S.C.'s George Hincapie rides for the United States Postal Service team, and played an integral part in Lance Armstrong's victory in the Tour de France in 1999. He is a two-time winner of the World Road Cycling Championship, and was ranked 50th in the world last year. Throughout the Tour de France, Hincapie is sharing his experience through the eyes of a key member of the defending championship team.
MONT VENTOUX, France -- The first six or seven miles up Mont Ventoux are unbelievably steep. Then as you get higher, it becomes a more gradual climb, but it's so wide open. A lot of people compare it to the moon -- there are no trees, no vegetation, just barrenness. There are also like 50 mph winds up there. It's pretty crazy.
| |
 |
| |
Much of the field is amazed by Lance Armstrong's performance thus far. |
In Thursday's stage, we brought Lance up to the front and made sure he stayed in good position at the right pace. He's just flying right now. He's letting everybody know that he is the strongest guy in the race.
A bunch of teams were attacking us all day. I think they're trying to push us. They want to see what our breaking point is, but it just makes us more determined and together when they kind of gang up on us. The fact that we're nine guys that are 100 percent together with the same goal is going to make it hard for anyone to beat us.
Our only team goal was to have Lance win the overall race, so thus far, I'd say we're doing a great job. We're just trying to maintain a certain level of control throughout each stage and make sure no one dangerous breaks away. We're all confident that he's going to win, but we won't be doing any celebrating until it's all over. There's still a long way to go.
Friday is more of a rolling day -- no huge mountains to contend with. The main element we'll have to contend with is that it is Bastille Day, which is like the French Independence Day. There should be a million French guys attacking from both sides. If a break gets away and it's not anyone dangerous, we'll be fine. But when there's a lot of attacks, like there will be on Friday, you can't control who gets in there, so we'll have to be on our toes.
My body is holding up pretty well. Wednesday's rest day certainly came in handy. I didn't participate in any of the sprints in the beginning, and that's turned out to be a good decision on our directeur's part because all my energy is going towards protecting and helping Lance. So I'm pretty fresh still.
I've definitely benefited from having the experience of being in last year's race. I know when to push it 100 percent and when to lay back a bit. I know the importance of riding in a group in which you're comfortable and you're not going to waste energy with. Our directeur tells us to do this, so we'll have the necessary energy when it really counts. It's all about not overdoing it.
Find out about George Hincapie's "Tour de Café," a line of specialty-roasted coffees with proceeds benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation on his web site at www.hincapie.com/2000tdf.html.
| |
ALSO SEE
Armstrong sends message in Tour's toughest stage
Armstrong conquers Mont Ventoux
Notebook: Texan McRae crashes out of Tour
Hincapie Diary No. 8
Hincapie Diary No. 7
Hincapie Diary No. 6
Hincapie Diary No. 5
Hincapie Diary No. 4
Hincapie Diary No. 3
Hincapie Diary No. 2
Hincapie Diary No. 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Stage 13 course map
RealVideo: 28.8
|
