Highway racing in the US isn’t what it was once. Gone are the times when WorldTour riders travelled from Europe to the US for world-class stage races.
“It’s sort of disappointing to see all these races gone,” says George Hincapie.
After a protracted and adorned profession, the celebrated domestique retired from skilled street racing in 2012. Hincapie raced in 17 editions of the Tour de France, enjoying an instrumental position within the victories of Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans. He additionally earned a victory at Gent-Wevelgem in 2001 and was a three-time U.S. nationwide street racing champion. In 2012, he admitted to utilizing performance-enhancing drugs, which led to him being stripped of two years of race outcomes between 2004 and 2006. Nevertheless, Hincapie has remained concerned within the sport by way of numerous ventures, together with proudly owning a biking workforce, organising occasions, operating a biking attire firm and serving to his son, Enzo, obtain his biking targets.
Biking Weekly spoke to Hincapie, now 51, on the debut of his new gran fondo occasion, Gran Fondo Hincapie – Bentonville.
“I do know a rider like me all the time regarded ahead to coming dwelling. You recognize, again within the day [there was] Tour of Georgia, Tour of Utah, Tour of Colorado, Tour of California. We had tons of racing that we may plan our 12 months round, and sadly, they don’t have that anymore.”
However that doesn’t imply that street using in the US is lifeless or that the US doesn’t have a powerful street presence. Athletes like Brandon McNulty, Kristen Faulkner, Matteo Jorgenson, and Sepp Kuss are proving to be dominant gamers on the world stage.
“On the optimistic aspect, there are a number of actually good American professionals which are doing unimaginable over in Europe,” states Hincapie. “I believe it’s simply going to get higher and higher so in that sense, biking is in a very good state when it comes to how sturdy our expertise is. However we’d like extra races for certain.”
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As amatuer and skilled street races across the U.S. are discontinued, it’s exhausting to surprise what pathway is left for American riders trying to make the leap to skilled street racing. Whereas NICA has created a powerful junior pathway for mountain biking, and gravel occasions are placing extra emphasis on junior riders, street racing has not had the identical luck. It seems that considerations round security are pushing increasingly individuals off roads and onto grime.
Enzo Hincapie on the 2024 Gran Fondo Hincapie – Bentonville
(Picture credit score: Gran Fondo Hincapie)
Hincapie, who started using along with his dad when he was a baby, recognises that folks nonetheless need to journey and race on the street. And if introduced with the chance for secure and well-organized occasions, individuals of all ages are keen to point out up. That’s why he’s so eager on organising mass begin occasions like the brand new Gran Fondo Hincapie – Bentonville, the place households with kids as younger as 6 years previous got here out to expertise the inaugural occasion in September.
Hincapie, who’s a father of two, can also be investing closely in junior biking as a solution to develop the game. His son, Enzo, is hoping to observe in his footsteps of turning into an expert bicycle owner. The 16-year-old lately gained his sixth nationwide title on the 2024 US Highway Nationwide Championships. Whereas Enzo is now proving his dominance within the U.S. junior races, Hincapie didn’t stress him into using.
“When he was ten, he hated hit,” Hincapie remembers. “I hated it too after I was a child and my dad can be like, ‘no we’re using.’ Then I bought into it. Enzo’s adopted kind of the identical path.”
Because the co-owner of the Gran Fondo Hincapie occasions, Hincapie has made it a degree to prioritise junior biking growth.
“We attempt to put a Junior Problem on with each occasion,” says Hincapie. The Junior Problem is a race throughout the Fondo that gives a $10,000 prize purse for the quickest feminine and male riders on the Medio course. Juniors can both go for the general race win, which affords $1,500 to first place, or they’ll deal with the 2 timed segments and earn the QOM/KOM $500 prize.
“In Greenville, we could have a Junior Problem, as effectively, the place we get a very stable discipline. So now we have that racing factor to attempt to get juniors on the market. And even when they’re not hardcore cyclists, to go do the occasion and see in the event that they prefer it, I believe it’s actually necessary for the inspiration of biking within the U.S. to nonetheless have street occasions. And that’s what we [Gran Fondo Hincapie] concentrate on. We need to proceed to advertise street biking as a lot as potential.”
Whereas the street scene has modified drastically because the days when Hincapie raced, individuals nonetheless care about street racing. Riders like Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel are animating the races and attracting the eye of 3.5 billion individuals worldwide. On the ladies’s aspect, greater than 2 million spectators tuned in to look at every stage of the Tour de France Femmes.
Hincapie believes that to be able to rebuild street biking within the U.S., communities must reinvest in it.
“I believe this neighborhood [Bentonville] is absolutely going to play a giant position in it. They’re investing a lot in biking right here, and so they’re doing quite a bit to convey occasions like ours in,” he says. “Hopefully, with some racing sooner or later. You see so many children on bikes right here.”
George Hincapie throughout his racing days
Hincapie believes that the way forward for street biking within the U.S. is vivid, higher even than it was when he was racing 20 years in the past.
“I used to be a part of the darkish period of biking,” says Hincapie. “I believe the game is in such a greater place now. [Athletes] won’t ever be confronted with these selections that we had been. They’re so targeted on diet, expertise, altitude coaching. In some ways, they’ve surpassed the advantages of doping by expertise.
The most effective groups. they’ve the coaching so dialled in, their diet so dialled in, which is a superb factor. The deal with expertise and the evolution of the game and so they’re getting sooner and sooner.”
So, how do you re-grow street biking in the US? You make investments sooner or later and supply alternatives for the youthful generations to flourish.
“I believe having such good American expertise, women and men, goes to assist encourage a brand new technology of cyclists,” says Hincapie.
“You all the time see that the higher the professionals do, the extra it looks as if youthful guys get into it or get impressed. I believe that’s going to essentially assist and we’ll see quite a bit extra expertise head over to Europe. “
