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| | Friday, July 21 An incredible day | |||||
| 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. MULHOUSE, France -- Tyler Hamilton had a phenomenal ride and Lance was just incredible. He was absolutely flying today. I was getting a massage during Lance's ride, so I watched the whole thing. He's so strong and motivated to do well. We weren't sure how it would go because it is Jan Ullrich's hometown, and he was just as motivated as well. We knew it would be close, but Lance came out on top. Tyler is one of the best time trialists in the world, especially in a long time trial like this. We knew he would do a good time. In fact, team director Johan Bruyneel told him to go as hard as he could, especially in the beginning, so that he could have good time splits for Lance. And Johan knows that Tyler is one of the best. It was good information to have. People were starting to say that Ullrich is getting stronger just because Lance had that one bad day in the mountains. Ullrich even said that he wished there was a couple more days in the mountains now. Friday was good to silence the press and the critics who would say that. They can't say anything now. Lance has been leading the race for over a week, but he hadn't won a stage yet. He really wanted to finish the Tour with at least one stage win. He's definitely excited and we are as well. Since I did not go too hard today, I am more rested. Tomorrow is going to be hard, and a very long day. There are still a lot of people who want to win a stage. And there are still some riders that will try to move up in the overall standings. We just need to be prepared, to have our day. Everybody is feeling that the end is near, but we still need to be ready for tomorrow. We want to stay clear of any freak accidents. We're all feeling good and feel confident. The champagne is not open yet. We won't open that up until Sunday night. I may have a beer tonight though, slowly getting ready for Sunday night. 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 wins time trial as Tour title draws near Stage Nineteen results Hincapie Diary No. 14 Hincapie Diary No. 13 Hincapie Diary No. 12 Hincapie Diary No. 11 Hincapie Diary No. 10 Hincapie Diary No. 9 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 19 course mapRealVideo: 28.8 Stage 20 course mapRealVideo: 28.8 | |||||
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