“I’ve been at home (in Greenville, South Carolina) motorpacing four or five days a week, trying to train as hard as possible,” he told Neil. “I’ve had good weather, daily massages and am eating well. I feel strong – definitely a lot better than I did at this time last year.” Now, less you think that is “the life.” George spends hours on his bike. If you think the description above is a piece of cake, you haven’t motorpaced.

The thing is… that’s his job. Sure, it is a job he loves, but he is being paid to be out there training and preparing for the season. It is hard work. However, that singular focus is one thing that lessens the issues that we amateur racers must face.

Consider my Tuesday workout…

I rushed out of my last meeting of the day so I could get home and possibly get my 2 hour training block done before it got too dark to ride. When I rushed in the door at home, I was faced with a fifth-grader with tears in his eyes over adding fractions. No way could I just walk past him and say, “Sorry, I have to ride my bike.”

Once I got him settled down and back to finding the least common denominator, I rushed into the bedroom to change. I looked at the clock and it was now a race against time. I grabbed my LowCadence.com bibs and started to pull them on. I couldn’t get them over my knees! Oh, these belonged to my fifth-grader. After disentangling from those, I grabbed my POA kit off the drying rack and finally got ready.

So, now I had 30 minutes to ride before leaving to go pick up my daughter from play practice. Beautiful Redhead was leaving for her aerobics session. Thankfully, I have the Batesview Criterium. By tacking a little bit to my warm-up, I was able to get the first part of my training session (including a 5 minute blow-out of 320 watts) wrapped up before leaving for my daughter.

Thankfully, practice wasn’t far away. After about 20 minutes, I was back on the bike. However, the type of workouts I needed to do wouldn’t work on the personal, but very hilly criterium course. I headed for Cleveland Park.

I was supposed to do 6 x 3 minute efforts at 320 watts. I would rest 3 minutes between each. Then I would ride easy for 10 minutes before doing 4 x 2 minutes at 320 watts with 4 minutes easy spinning between each. Once I got done, I would ride easy for the 15 minutes back home. Adding up all those minutes as I headed down East North Street toward the park, I realized that I was going to be in a race against the sun.

Once in the park, I ran into a new frustration. It used to be that I could start at the intersection of Ridgeland Drive and Cleveland Park Drive and put the hammer down along Cleveland Park Drive onto Lakehurst Drive all the way to Cleveirvine Avenue. At 350 watts that takes about 1 minute and 40 seconds. Then I would turn right on Cleveirvine Avenue followed by a second right onto Woodland Way. I would then crest the hill above the park right about the 3 minute mark.

Things could be worse!

Enter the speed bumps. I don’t begrudge the bumps they put in where the Swamp Rabbit Trail intersects Cleveland Park Drive. It does slow that traffic in an area with a lot of pedestrian traffic. When I’m riding my bike, I don’t normally notice it because there is enough space around the bumps for a bike to pass easily.

During my workout they were a nuisance. It seemed that every time I got close to the bumps, a car would pull out of the nearby parking lot and then come to a complete stop as they slowly traversed the 10 inch mounds. On a couple of my efforts I had to come to a rolling stop. This meant to get my average above 320 watts, I had to punch it up Woodland Way.

Just as I was starting my second 2 minute effort the sun disappeared. Things started getting scary. Still, I hoped that I could get the final two before going home.

On the third effort I got to the bumps and the car not only went slowly over the obstacles, but I also could see two ladies in the car talking away. They continued at a very slow pace. My average was blown. I decided it was time to go home.

Thankfully, I made it to the bicycle lanes on East North Street with no mishaps. I pushed my lap button and decided to get one more two minute effort on my way home. Not bad… at the end of the session I was still able to turn out a 385 watt 2 minute effort. Of course, that meant I only got a 3 minute cool down.

Yes, it was a frustrating evening, but looking back over the ride data I have to be pretty happy. I nailed every one of the efforts (except one at 310 watts due to traffic) at 320 watts or above. This is showing me that I’m beginning to add some matches to my matchbook. I’m still not where I was last year before the wreck, but I’m starting to believe again that I can get there — even with speed bumps in my way.

When he left HTC-Columbia, I wasn’t real thrilled. I liked Bob Stapleton and the chemistry in the team seemed genuine. Of course, it doesn’t hurt when a team dominates like they did in stage wins.

Bob is still the same and while several riders left the team, it appears the same camaraderie exists among the remaining and newer riders. However, with George moving over to BMC I find myself drawn to learn a bit more about the wild card team that is showing itself worthy in the Tour Down Under. I might find myself checking the general classifications for two teams this year!

Anyway, I happened across this article on CyclingNews.com and thought I would archive it here at LowCadence.com.  If you are a George or BMC fan, I think you will enjoy this up close look at the 2009 National Champion’s steed. The BMC STX01 RaceMaster is a nice machine!

Photo from Cyclingnews.com click image for gallery.

After Greipel’s first win, I saw him put his arm around George’s shoulder. That Hincapie Sportswear USA National Championship kit looked pretty good standing out from the crowd around. I couldn’t help to think of the crew over off Pete Hollis Blvd when I saw it. There was a piece of Greenville right there on the roads of Australia. More than that, there was one of Greenville’s best ambassadors doing what he does best… riding a bike and encouraging a younger rider.

Unfortunately, for the big guy, he had a little tumble in the beginning of Stage 3 and had to get patched up a bit. Then he had trouble with his front wheel. However, he came back to finish with the main group – just 1 second behind the winner. That puts him in 19th place in the general classification only 20 seconds back. More important is the fact that BMC has moved into 3rd on the team classification. This bodes well for fans who want to see George and his team in the major races of the year.

Last year I became aware of a program that was brought to Greenville.  It is called the Cycling CEO Challenge. It is one of multiple types of CEO Challenges including Driving, Skiing, Tennis, Fishing, and many more.

The idea came to Ted Kennedy as he was working with Ironman America as VP of Sales and Marketing.  The first challenges were limited to the Ironman.  Go to the CEO Challenge web site and you’ll see it has expanded well beyond that!

Ted says he loves his job and I can see why! One of the neat things about this program is that you get to spend some time with a professional in each of the various sports. Here in Greenville the participants got to spend some time with George Hincapie.

On Friday, the crew got to ride with Big George up to Saluda. They also participated in other events surrounding Hincapie Sportswear including a charity fashion show — they didn’t model, they just attended! On Saturday morning they had the challenge.

Each CEO Challenge event centers around a challenge between the various CEO participants. For the cycling challenge it is the King of the Mountain Challenge. It’s pretty simple — the first CEO to make it to the top is the winner. Do you think these guys are competitive? Don’t think they would be where they are professionally if they weren’t!

Instead of writing about the event, I’ll just let you watch the video. It captures the day pretty well. The only thing I wish I had on the video was a pretty spectacular save. We were following George along the route he rides often. He made a turn and the word didn’t get back quickly enough.

I was coming in the rear. I watched as several riders tried to slow to make the turn.  Of course, this caused an accordion effect toward those of us in the back. One of the CEO participants locked up to avoid another rider in front of him. It was as if he was in a drifting competition!  His rear wheel was spewing smoke from burnt rubber as he burned through his tire sliding this rear to his left.

I cringed and looked for an escape route.  I was sure we were going to gave a pile up. However, he kept it up! As I was going pass him, I heard his tube explode as the rubber protecting it disintegrated. As those of us who continued straight came back, the pungent smell of burnt rubber was in the air.

Sorry I didn’t catch it with the camera. Of course, had I been riding with one hand on the bars, I don’t think I would have been up long enough to get a good shot. Great save!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Dv82DgXHhA

Oh, I did pass George as we were climbing the mountain.  However, it was only because he was going back to help pace one of the participants as he worked to reach the top.  I had to go ahead so I could catch the eventual winner crossing the finish line.

Once again, Big George showed himself to be a class act. He is one of the main reasons why you have CEOs returning for a second opportunity to ride here in Greenville. If you are a CEO and a cyclist, perhaps you would like to take up the challenge and give Tim Hockey a run for his money in 2010!

We already knew that the USA Cycling Professional Championships would be in Greenville come 2010.  However, a week or so after the announcement word started going out that the time for the race would change.  The first rumor I heard was that it would be early in the year.

That would be a bummer.  That would mean that George Hincapie would have very little opportunity to race in his US Champion’s jersey.  The good news is that rumor proved to be false.  The rumor that the date would change was true, but the new date is actually later than last year’s event.

The release from USA Cycling – “The Greenville Hospital System USA Cycling Professional Championships will return to Greenville, S.C. for a fifth consecutive year in 2010, with new dates set for September 18-19, 2010. The Championship weekend features the USA Cycling Professional Time Trial Championship on Saturday and the USA Cycling Professional Road Race Championship on Sunday.”

The Greenville County Council got some undeserved negative mentions.  A committee in the council decided to scale back some of the $15,000 that was being allotted to the September event.  What wasn’t said in the Greenville News article was that the council had committed to $50,000 for the Championships for each of the next three years.  In other words, they are earmarking $150,000 for the purpose of trying to encourage the race to come back for future years as well.  Also, some of the $15,000 may still be channeled to the race.

There were plenty of other rumors going on, but only one of them reached a conclusion — at least to my knowledge!  Who would have thought that Cadel Evans would end up going to BMC?  Who would have thought that going into 2010 that BMC would have the last two World Champions and the current US Champion?  Hmmmm, wonder if they’ll get a Tour invite this year?

The Cantador rumors still pop up.  Where will he be in 2010?  One of the last ones I heard was that he would go to the old Silence-Lotto team.  I can’t imagine that he would do that.  Then again, had you asked me Friday if I thought Cadel would go to BMC…

Hincapie will provide BMC with premium cycling apparel and accessories.  But wait, that’s not all!  BMC riders will also be sporting Hincapie Premium Denim and protecting themselves on those long hot training days with Hincapie SkinDefense SPF 30 Sunscreen.

“We’re very excited about our new partnership with BMC Racing,” said Rich Hincapie, president of Hincapie Sportswear. “This is an awesome opportunity for us to showcase our products to the entire world through the team and the new relationship. We’re especially excited that George will be able to finally race and train in his own apparel.”

Tour de France stage winner and recently crowned US Professional Road Race Champion, George Hincapie has signed a two year contract with the BMC Racing Team. He will be racing in Hincapie Sportswear apparel for the first time in his long career.

“I’m very excited to be racing in Hincapie apparel next year,” said George Hincapie, 5-time Olympian and co-owner of Hincapie Sportswear. “I love the stuff we make and I haven’t been able to wear it that much on my other teams. The team opportunity is great for me as well. I started my professional cycling career with Jim Ochowicz, and I’m pleased to be joining him again.”

I wonder if that was one of the things that attracted Hincapie to the contract with BMC?  This could have as much impact on his future as any success he might see on the bike.  It will also be interesting to see what type of designs come out of the relationship.

Hincapie plans to make BMC Cycling Team apparel available to the public through Hincapie dealers and on the company’s website, www.Hincapie.com. Look for the new apparel design to be announced soon.

It will be interesting to see how the race unfolds.  With 93 riders within one minute of the leader, time bonuses have been the only way to improve your position.  Will this continue to the end, or will some sort of break switch things up in the next five stages?  With Vande Velde out, it opens up stage five for an interesting finish in the individual time trial.

Then again, today could be a deciding day as the peloton moves into the Ozarks.  It ain’t the Alps, but the profile looks like a saw blade!  6000 feet of climbing over undulating terrain can be painful in a different kind of way.  Last year Michael Barry soloed to the win.

One thing is for certain, we get spoiled by the television coverage of the Tour de France.  Both finishes so far have been somewhat obstructed.  It almost made it more interesting to read about Cavendish’s finishes than to watch them.  I miss that overhead view where you get do analyze the decisions made by the various sprinters.

Hey! I’m not complaining though! Seeing any of the race sure beats not having anything at all.  Thank you, Universal Sports!

What can you say about that Manx Missile – Man from Man – the British Invasion?  The Columbia-HTC team is strong, but not as overwhelming as they were in the Tour de France.  From what I can tell, Cav has had to do a little more of his own work in the closing moments of the race. Yesterday’s stage was a prime example when he launched from Thor’s wheel rather than a teammate’s.

Now that is to take nothing away from the Columbia-HTC team.  They may be ranked third in the team classification, but there is no doubt they are in control.  It was good to see Craig Lewis doing yoeman’s work to put his man in position.

George is looking really good in his red, white, and blue.  However, I do wonder if he will only get stronger as the tour progresses.  I would imagine he is just getting his stage race legs back after being off the bike for so long.  I want to see how he does in stage 5.

Oh, I wasn’t listening at this point.  Perhaps it was explained, but what was Craig Lewis doing with his water bottle and front tire?  He pulled his water bottle out and then placed it lightly on the front tire.  He then moved it back and forth a bit.  Was he trying to clean something off of the tire?  Maybe he was trying to cool it down to get some more grip.

Bottom line, it is good to see another American race see some success.

———————–

Call me a fanboy. Call me a homer. Call me a wannabe. I don’t care. I saw something spectacular this past Sunday. I saw a town get behind a beloved son, will him to the finish line, and then have a collective group hug when he got there first. I saw a man overcome a frustrating year to cap it off with an all-too-rare win and then wrap himself in his family as he soaked it all in. I saw Victory, the tastiest of all NOMs, be consumed by a most deserving recipient…

In what, in my eyes, hasn’t happened enough, George Hincapie won this past Sunday. Don’t get me wrong: George has won PLENTY of races, this one being his record-tying third Stars and Stripes jersey. He’s in the 99.9999th percentile in terms of his athletic abilities and cycling skills. He is without doubt one of the greatest American cyclists of his generation, but that’s not what he is known for. George is one of “those guys” that we all love. He brings the lunchbox every day, works hard, gets the job done, happily does the glamor-free work, and makes his team better in every way. Then he comes back, day after day, to do it again. He is nice. He is stoic. He always delivers.

In my brief time in cycling, I’ve found that many cyclists can be a fickle bunch, which makes it even more astounding that George is not only universally liked in the sport, but revered. Seriously. Try to find somebody badmouthing him. They don’t exist.

Now, stack that up against Lance Armstrong. He’s a polarizing figure in that as much as people respect his prowess on the bicycle, many can’t stand how he did it. Armstrong brings out strong emotions in people. He is a force of nature, no doubt, but any Lance love comes with at least a little guilt that your pulling for the class bully. (Note: I say all of this as an unapologetic, unabashed Lance Armstrong fan. I wear his wristband, read his books, follow him on Twitter, and do my best to raise as much money as I can for the Livestrong cause. Lance is Lance, and I love him for it.)

Compare what has made these two men what they are and drives their success:

• Lance Armstrong: laser-like focus, unparalleled willpower, killer instinct, an indomitable spirit, and an ego the size of Texas
• George Hincapie: dedication, commitment, hard work, altruism, and an understanding of what it takes for a team to bring a winning rider to the finish line

Both are admirable in their own way, but which can you relate to more? I thought so.

And then there’s this: would one exist as he currently does without the other? For every Michael Jordan or Lance Armstrong, there are countless Steve Kerrs, and George Hincapies. MJ needed Kerr to hit that 3 against the Jazz in ‘96, and Lance needed George to protect him in the flats and pull him in the mountains throughout those 7 Tour victories. I love those lunch pail guys. I’m a huge fan of both groups, mind you. It’s just nice to see someone from the latter group get the brass ring.

Let it be known: the Stars and Stripes jersey is far from the most prestigious prize in the world of cycling. Other than soccer, it’s the most euro-centric sport I know of in that everything that matters comes from, and occurs on, the Continent. I’d be willing to bet that even Hincapie himself, with a gun to his head, would easily take his mountain Tour stage win on the Pla d’Adet over all three USPro road race jerseys he has now amassed, which makes the emotional nature of this win so interesting. To understand it, let’s rewind through a couple parts of his year to date:

Paris-Roubaix: an ill-timed flat keeps George out of contention, robbing him of the one race that has haunted him and the only thing missing from his impressive list of palmares. He was pissed after that race, but at least that time it was fate that intervened. On the other hand…

The Tour de France: in what will forever now be deemed in this space as the TdF Screwjob, George jumped into a breakaway in the 14th stage and had a chance at a day in the Yellow Jersey. Only, depending on who you ask, one rival team or the other got petty and decided to work just hard enough to keep him out of Yellow. Pissed doesn’t even begin to describe George’s state of mind after that slap in the face. More like abject despair and disbelief. Oh, and he broke his collarbone with several stages to go… Then he finished the dang race anyway. A hard man, indeed.

That was it for a while. No more racing. Only rehab. Fast forward to Sunday… One of the teams that may or may not have hosed George in the TdF Screwjob brought a juggernaut team to Greenville with the goal of, once and for all, declaring dominance on USA Cycling.

George, he had Craig Lewis, who had the swine flu. George won anyway. (Note:Craig rode a courageous race, breaking up the peloton on Paris Mountain, before dropping off. Expect great things from him in the future.)

George is well known to be a low-key, unassuming guy. He “knows his role,” and he sticks to it, mostly, but there’s more than meets the eye. For an interesting perspective, watch “A Ride with George Hincapie,” and you’ll see something else under the surface: white hot passion. He wants it just as bad as anybody else. He just typically goes about it in a different way (i.e., playing the domestiqe, leadout, etc.) Sunday was different. He was the man, and you could tell he was enjoying it. When he crossed the line, he was declaring territory. This was HIS race.

Two images come to my mind, one of which I witnessed:

1. On the podium George focused on all the family that were there which would better be describe as a clan, or a phalanx. There must have been 50 of them, and each one was as happy, if not happier than George was. It was beautiful. He was beeming, and was quite literally having the time of his life as he showered himself, his competitors, and the crowd in champagne.
2. As told to me by my buddy Fu, who was lucky enough to be a volunteer in the right place: when George finally came to a stop, he sat down on a curb. Fu did his best to make sure George had room with the mob crowding in around him, but George couldn’t get enough of it. “He just soaked it up and reveled in what was happening around him.” Fu told me that he just sat their, shredded, and soaked it all up like a sponge. Ricardo, George’s dad, was with him on the curb. After catching his breath, finishing the last water bottle and tossing it into the crowd, George draped himself on his dad as if to say “this is what it’s all about.”

The rest of us just went nuts and cheered on as our hometown boy got his due. One word kept popping up to me: vindication.

All in all, it was a great culmination to George’s racing year. That night he tweeted that he opened a bottle of Dom when he got home. He then went up to Queens to watch the US Open with his wife Melanie and Craig and his wife Courtney, before coming home and “Having dinner with 25 of my family members from Columbia. Fun stuff.” (twitter). I’m sure that there were quite a bit of victory NOMs consumed by the Hincapie clan in the past 72 hours. Knowing the Colombian culture it may go on for a while, and that, friends, is a very good thing.

The interesting twist this was last race he’ll ever ride for High Road**: the winningest team this year and one that he helped pull out of the mire that was the T-Mobile team while acting the elder statesman by bringing young riders like Mark Cavendish and Edvald Boasson Hagen to the center of the cycling stage. Columbia and HTC will not get the domestic bump from having the Stars and Stripes jersey associated with their brands. Now, he’s going to BMC, who has risen from the ashes of Phonak and Floyd Landis*, to ostensibly try and take them to the next level as well. However, all business is not settled. With the signings of Ballan and others, I smell a classics campaign and a chance for George to finally capture his unicorn: Paris-Roubaix.

So, we here at Yummy NOMs would like to recognize Mr. George Hincapie as our first recipient of the soon-to-be prestigious Yummy NOMs seal of approval. I’m sure this will go into the trophy case right next to the USPros, the yellow jersey, and the Pla d’Adet win. Good on ya, George!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to load up on Team BMC gear (have you SEEN those kits?). Speaking of which, BMC makes some killer bikes. Anybody got an in for a team frame for a fanboy? 58 cm would do nicely…

It was fun to get out and see the action first hand, but you can be in an information hole when you are sitting up on top of Paris Mountain waiting for the peloton to come.  How do you keep up the action going on downtown?  Enter the age of Twitter!

Check out the action with these Twitter reporters (you’ll find that the more time that passes since this was published, the farther back you will have to go): BikeHugger, NeilRoad, PodiumInsight, WilliamDorn, DHMruz, USACPRO, and don’t forget BroomWagon.  These were just a few of the fans along the route (and in the media cars and media room) keeping us fans on the course informed.  You can also check out the hash tags – USPROS, USPRO, and USPROCYCLING.

Speaking with William Dorn last night, I mentioned it might be cool next year to organize things a bit more.  We could post “reporters” and different strategic places around the course.  We could all post to a common Twitter account – or probably best at hash tag – the information from that spot.  Add that to the chase car stuff from the lucky guys able to follow the race from there, and you could have a great way for fans to follow the event.

Other thoughts…

I’m excited to know that the USA Cycling Professional Championships will be coming back in 2010. I think Greenville is on the cusp of really finding a niche for cycling on the east coast.  It isn’t going to be without pain though.  It is definitely a cultural shift for many people.  That isn’t to say that cycling isn’t open to everyone.  I’m certainly as straight-laced and conservative as they come.  That isn’t the type of cultural shift I’m talking about.

What I am talking about is the willingness to accommodate bicycles in our community.  It is obvious that the city leaders recognize this.  Steps are being taken to win Greenville “bike friendly city” status.  This is a great step.  However, it is the willingness of the larger county region to accept – or at least tolerate – cyclist of all types that is needed.

Greenville is a natural place to ride a bike.  Now when people say Greenville in relationship to cycling, they don’t tag on the South Carolina.  A simple Greenville suffices.  That isn’t going to change.  Cycling will continue to grow here.  With that growth will come some tension.  Hopefully, the good of cycling will ultimately win the day.

Please, wear your helmet! While on Paris Mountain, I spent some time talking with a group of spectators.  Soon after a couple of those in the group headed down the Furman side of Altamont Road.  As they neared the end one of them got entangled with another rider.  He went down and hit his head.  He didn’t have a helmet.  He did receive head trauma and had to be immobilized.

It shows the importance of wearing your helmet – even when you think you are just a spectator.  When we start those two wheels rolling, we are no longer spectators – we are participants.  We need to be prepared – our lives may depend on it.

Reliving the day!

• Hincapie wins championship at home – CyclingNews.com (Be sure to check out the photos.  Greenville can’t buy this kind of publicity!)
• Hincapie wins U.S. pro road race – VeloNews.com (Some really great coverage of the role Craig Lewis played in George’s win.)
• George Hincapie wins USA Cycling title on his home turf – GreenvilleOnline.com
• Storybook Endings – Bicycling.com

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

A Ride With George

I do not know George Hincapie.  I say this because sometimes in conversations with people they assume that because of this blog I have some sort of access to people.  Not so.  I’ve only ridden with him in large groups and have never had a conversation with him beyond a couple of sentences.

So, I didn’t get an advance copy of the DVD.  I put down my cash for it just like everyone else.  The image I have of the man is the one filtered by the television screen and descriptions by fans.

Now I think I can now say I know much more about George Hincapie.  After watching “A Ride With George” I really feel as though I do know him.  This documentary by Plan A Films does a good job of placing George in his element – on the bike – and then getting him to open up with some good questions.  I take that back… some of the most telling responses to the questions are the ones that “Big George” answers with silence.

Another interesting tactic of the film makers was to ask questions of friends and cycling personalities and then having George watch them.  The camera closes in on his face as he sees the responses for the first time.  This exercise offered a couple of telling glimpses into the mind of the quiet rider.

At other times it isn’t interviews he watches but clips of his past exploits — and heart breaks — on the bike.  By this time you have learned enough about him to pick up the shades of emotion that move across his features.  Before the movie is over, you feel those emotions yourself — at least you will if you have had any experience on the bike.

Was there anything about the presentation that I did not like?  Well, I didn’t really see the need to have the f-bombs dropping here and there.  I’d like to have my children watch it.  I guess the intention was to give the film some edge.  I really do think it stood just fine on its content without the need of that language.

At a couple of points, the video seems a little less than high quality.  Part of that is due to the fact that they are filming George watching a clips on a big screen.  However, there are some other sections that seem a little grainy.  Don’t worry about it.  Before long you don’t notice those things as you sit there with the interviewer trying to pry open Hincapie’s mind.

I don’t know George, but I do know people who are close enough to him to give a fair assessment as to whether this film captures his true personality.  Each one of them gives the basic response, “That is George.”  If it is, then I’m more willing than ever to say I’m a fan of my fellow Greenvillian.

I don’t want to give any spoilers, but there is one instance I have to share.  Near the end of the movie many people, including Lance Armstrong, are asked what title they would give to George.  As they started this segment I said out loud to myself, “America’s Cycling Ambassador.”  I have called George that before.  Well, what do you know, a few moments later that is the exact title bestowed on Hincapie by Paul Sherwin.

The movie ends with George giving his own idea of what his title should be.  You’ll have to watch it to find out what he says.  You won’t be disappointed.