George Hincapie is a bad, bad man, and I mean that in the best possible way. The American veteran of 14 Tours de France announced today that he broke his collarbone in a crash on Stage 17 of this years race. No only did he get back on his bike and ride the final 70 kilometers of the stage, but he also refused to go to the hospital afterward. Basically, he didn’t want to know whether it was broken or not, and preferred instead of just start Stage 18 and see if he could make it all the way to the finish line of Stage 21.
I can’t say I’m terribly surprised. I’ve known George since he was a teenager, and I was his coach for several years while he was on the US National Team, Motorola, and US Postal Service teams. There’s no doubt he’s tough. His favorite race is one of the most brutal one-day races in cycling: Paris-Roubaix. Though victory there has eluded him for more than a decade, he loves that 250-plus kilometer sufferfest festooned with long sections of Napoleonic era cobblestone roads, mud, cow-crud, rain and wind. No, I have no doubt George is tough, but tough enough to race four stages of the Tour de France with a broken collarbone?
He’s not the first person to refuse to drop out of the Tour de France with a broken collarbone. The same thing happened to Tyler Hamilton in 2003 – and Tyler broke his collarbone in the first week of the event. In reality, we’re talking about cracking the collarbone, not a complete break. Nevertheless, it’s very painful to continue racing with a cracked collarbone.
With a collarbone injury, it’s difficult to put weight on your arm. This causes a problem for cyclists because their arms support a large portion of their upper body weight as the rider bends forward over the bike. Time trials lead to even greater problems because of the aerodynamic position necessary for these events against the clock. In an aero position, your forearm rests on a pad atop the handlebars and your hands are stretched out in front of you. A large portion of your upper body weight is being supported by your forearm, and there’s a direct path for road vibrations to travel up the humerus bone in the upper arm right to the shoulder and into the clavicle. George may not have ridden the best time trial of his life on Stage 18 this year, but he did well enough to retain his 19th place overall position in the standings all the way to Paris.
To top it all off, George played a pivotal role in getting his Columbia HTC teammate, Mark Cavendish, across the finish line first on Sunday’s final stage of the Tour de France – making a total of six stage wins for Cavendish in this year’s race alone. About 1-kilometer from the finish line, Hincapie took control of his team’s leadout train (a group of support riders who take turns setting a super-fast pace at the front of the group in order to put their sprinter – who sits at the back of the train – into position to win). In front of his were three Garmin riders, intent on getting Tyler Farrar into position to challenge Cavendish for the victory. Riding at 35-40mph over cobblestones around the Place de la Concorde, Hincapie – broken collarbone and all – took his Columbia HTC team leadout train abruptly to the left and out of the draft of the Garmin team. He surged forward to pass the entire Garmin leadout train before moving aside to let Mark Renshaw – the final leadout man – take Cavendish through the final corner and onto the Champs Elysees for another sprint victory.
I’ve broken my collarbone. I’ve cracked my collarbone. I’ve even tried to ride my bike with a broken and a cracked collarbone. I can’t even begin to describe how painful it must have been for George to take one last pull within the final kilometer of the 2009 Tour de France. And remember that the final 80 kilometers of the last stage into Paris is contested on cobblestones, not just that last one. Add to that two 100-plus mile road stages and a 25-mile time trial, all with a crack in the only bone that directly connects your torso to your right arm.
Still think bike racing is easy because you used to ride your bike to school? Come here; let me take a mallet to your collarbone before you go out and ride a few hundred miles – at speeds ranging from 20-40 mph - over the next four days.
Chris Carmichael
Just announced: Until August 15, 2009 anyone who takes advantage of the Create Your Own Comeback program at trainright.com is automatically invited to attend a two-day cycling training camp with Chris Carmichael in Buellton, California in February 2010.
