ESPN.com - MORESPORTS/TDF00 - Hincapie Diary No. 17

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	Training Room

Sunday, July 23
Tonight should be a lot of fun

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 victories in the Tour de France in 1999 and 2000. 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 shared his experience through the eyes of a key member of the defending championship team.

PARIS -- Sunday was really an amazing experience. Riding around the Champs-Elys�es was pretty enjoyable. All the people were so excited and celebrating. It was a very emotional day, and it really made the last few weeks, as unbelievably difficult as they were, all worthwhile.

The team rented out a big museum for tonight's festivities. There should be about 200 people there for dinner and some pretty serious celebrating. Everyone on the team has some family and friends in town. It's been a long haul, so tonight should be a lot of fun.


	Lance Armstrong, center, and his teammates ride up the Champs Elys�es.

It's hard to compare last year's victory to this one. Obviously, they were both great. The only thing that really makes them similar is how difficult both Tours were. It's an incredible feeling just to finish the Tour de France, much less win it. You're both exhausted and elated at the same time. I wouldn't say that one was better than the other; they were both experiences that had everything you can imagine all rolled into a few weeks.

Lance was just superb throughout the race. Winning by six minutes -- I really can't say enough about him. There isn't anything more that he could have done the past few weeks. He showed everyone that he's the strongest guy in our sport, and the team couldn't be happier for him. I'm very thankful for the chance to ride with Lance and be his teammate.

Winning this thing two years in a row is just a fantastic accomplishment for our team. We had all nine guys finish the race -- the only team do so. In this day and age, repeating the championship is a pretty rare feat. It's a real testament to how this team stuck together and shared one common goal. The excitement amongst us is pretty special.

I have a much needed two weeks off now, during which I plan on just resting up. After that, I'm going to start preparing for the Olympics, which should be yet another great experience.

As for next year's Tour, I'll definitely be back with the U.S. Postal team, and we plan on doing it all over again -- three years in a row!

Find out about George Hincapie's "Tour de Caf�," a line of specialty-roasted coffees with proceeds benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation on his web site at www.hincapie.com/2000tdf.html.

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