Look for Hincapie at US Pros
When I logged in to check on LowCadence.com this morning, I came across the following tweet from George Hincapie in the site’s “Tracking George” section.
ghincapie: Got some bad news this am. X ray confirmed my collar bone is broken.
My first thought was, “I figured he broke it.” My second thought was, “Man, he rode all that way with a broken collar bone!” My last thought was, “Oh no! What about the USA Cycling Professional Championships?”
George Hincapie's broken collar bone - georgehincapie.com
Looking around for information on broken collar bones I found that the expected healing time for an adult is 12 weeks. Ummmm, did the people who wrote these articles ever met a cyclist? I don’t think so.
The most notable recently broken clavicle was Lance Armstrong’s. He had surgery in late May (Correction: it was late March) and stood on the podium in the Tour De France late July. If you recall, that was after surgery that left metal in his shoulder.
The US Pro Road Race is a favorite race for Hincapie. My guess is that race will weigh in his decision about his own injury. As of this morning, we do not know if the doctors want him to have surgery or not. Will he opt out of surgery if he can recover in time?
You can be sure he will be doing what he can to make the race. If you can finish 19th in the Tour De France after climbing Mont Vontoux with a broken collar bone, what is Paris Mountain? No, American cycling fans, I think you can count on George Hincapie to be there August 30.
Update 3 PM: Velonews.com reports…
Hincapie said he still hopes to compete in the USA Cycling Professional Road Racing Championships, scheduled August 29-30 in Greenville, South Carolina.
“I am going to get a second opinion, but at this point, I think I am going to let it heal naturally and not get surgery,” he said. “If I do get surgery, I can probably ride again in two weeks. If I don’t it will probably be four weeks.”
George Hincapie stories:
- George Hincapie’s collar bone was broken in Tour crash
- Hincapie reports clavicle fracture
- George Hincapie is a bad, bad man
- Who’s the man?
- Break Confirmed
Tags: George Hincapie, USA Cycling Professional Championships
Let’s hope you’re right. USPro would not be the same without George. Don’t forget Tour of Missouri right after USPro. We need George there too.
Hmm, Armstrong broke his collarbone 3 weeks or so before the Giro, in April. Unless I’m missing something.
Dima, you are correct. I have made the correction in the original post. Don’t know what I was thinking. Maybe I wasn’t