In what director sportif Johan Bruyneel called the team's best effort since last year's Tour de France, the United States Postal Service Pro Cycling Team went toe-to-toe with powerhouse Mapei at yesterday's Paris-Roubaix, the third round of the World Cup. In the end, the USPS could not prevent Mapei from winning its fifth Paris-Roubaix in the last six years, but the team left everything it had on the cobblestones leading to the Roubaix velodrome. The USPS was led by George Hincapie's sixth place finish with two other riders - Viatcheslav Ekimov and Frankie Andreu - also finishing in the top 20.
"Taking away the team performance at last year's Tour de France, this was the best race I have ever seen us race as a team," Bruyneel said. "The Tour de France was a team success and a result of teamwork over three weeks, but in a one-day race, we were represented the whole race. The team was awesome yesterday."
However, Mapei was able to win Paris-Roubaix for the third straight year and for the fifth time since 1995, a streak that includes three 1-2-3 sweeps (1996, 1998, 1999). Johan Museeuw launched a solo attack with 40 kilometers remaining - leaving Andreu behind - and was able to hold off the final group of chasers to win the race for the second time. Museeuw's winning time in the 272 km race was 6 hours and 47 minutes.
Hincapie was able to place sixth, 15 seconds back, despite riding the last 10 kms on a soft tire and crashing at the 210 km mark after the second feed zone. Although he admitted to being "pretty banged up" following the race, Bruyneel had nothing but compliments for Hincapie, who finished fourth last year's event.
"There is no doubt about it, this is his race," Bruyneel said. "He was pumped up. His behavior in the race pushed the team to a higher level - the same like Lance (Armstrong) at (last year's) Tour de France. During the race, I have never seen him so confident. We went up to him a few times in the car and asked him how he was feeling, and for him to say he was flying...well, if you know George, that is usually not George's way of talking."
Hincapie entered the race still suffering from bruised ribs as a result of several crashes at the Three Days of the Panne stage race - won by Ekimov - late last month. The ribs hampered him at the Tour of Flanders last Sunday and also at Gent-Wevelgem on Wednesday.
"First of all, George is our leader for the Classics," Bruyneel said. "He was our leader at Milan-Sam Remo and in Flanders and also at Paris-Roubaix. The riders really reacted to him. They noticed the difference in George between Flanders and Gent-Wevelgem, and then between Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix."
The USPS' Marty Jemison went with the early breakaway while other team members Cedric Vasseur, Julian Dean, Benoit Joachim and Christian Vande Velde worked for the team leaders throughout. Towards the end of the race, Andreu attacked with the hopes of setting up Hincapie for the win. However, Museeuw bridged to Andreu and then went solo with 40 kms remaining. Ekimov then surged at the front of the chasers, shattering the group and creating the final group riding after Museeuw. However, nothing was going to deny Museeuw of his ninth World Cup victory.
The team will next race on Wednesday, at both the Tour of Aragon and Fleche Wallonne. The World Cup continues on Sunday with Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
"At Fleche and Liege, we don't have a clear rider as team leader," Bruyneel said. "Christian is the protected rider, but we honestly don't expect him to win. At Paris-Roubaix, we could dream a little bit that George could win.
"Everybody saw that it was a race between Mapei and us. We saw it on the television in the car. There were only two teams controlling the race. We decided what was going to happen."
- And then again, they didn't :)
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