BMC leader highly motivated for the Queen of the Classics
George Hincapie (BMC) riding the Ronde van Vlaanderen. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
George Hincapie (BMC) goes into this weekend's Paris-Roubaix in good form after finishing sixth at the Tour of Flanders last week. The American has had a love/hate relationship with the race, but his results there have been consistent as he finished in the top ten on five occasions, and claimed second in 2005.
The BMC team is still without a win this season but potentially has one of the best Classics teams on paper. With the exception of Hincapie's result in Flanders, the outfit has shown very little through the likes of Alessandro Ballan and Marcus Burghardt.
Hincapie knows that a win in Roubaix would be the perfect way to kick-start their season.
"That would be awesome but the team is happy," Hincapie told Cyclingnews. "We're the sixth best team in the world and we're a new team. At all the big races we're always there. We just need a bit of luck and that will come soon. Maybe it'll be Sunday, when you need a lot of luck."
Although also beaten on the day by better performances, luck has often been against in Hincapie in Roubaix. In 2006, his steerer tube snapped with 45 kilometres to go, and the American ended up on the side of the road, as he saw the lead group drive away. However, in 2005, he finished second to Tom Boonen.
"I'm going into it full gas and I'm not thinking about my age. At Flanders I went into that race as good as ever in that race."
At 36, Hincapie only has a few years left within the sport. However he'll take comfort and confidence from Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle who won the race at the grand age of 38 in 1993.
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"My age isn't a factor at the moment but more than likely next year will be my last one. But you never know."
After his effort in Flanders, the American admitted that he was still a little worn out at the start of yesterday's Scheldeprijs. "I'm a little bit tired. It was a tough race and I'll try and take it as easy as possible before then and save everything for Sunday. That's going to be very big. It's the biggest point in the year for me and I'm hoping I have as good a legs as I did in Flanders, if not better."
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
