LA ROCHE SUR YON, France, July 2 (Reuters) - When George Hincapie pushes down on his pedals to start the Tour de France for a 16th time on Saturday, the American will equal the record of race appearances set by Dutchman Joop Zoetemelk in 1986.
The 38-year-old rode his first Tour with the Motorola team in 1996 and has participated in every edition since, helping Lance Armstrong win the race seven times from 1999 to 2005.
The New Yorker’s best final placing was 14th in 2005, when he won a stage in the Pyrenees, and the three-times American road champion also held the leader’s yellow jersey for one day in 2006.
“This record thing is making me nervous for the first time in many years at the start of the Tour,” said Hincapie, now riding for the BMC team led by Australian Cadel Evans.
“When I started, I was hoping to spend ten years as a pro and ride a couple of Tours. I could never imagine I would ride that many,” he added.
Hincapie is actually in his 18th professional season and was reunited with his first team director, Jim Ochowicz, when he joined BMC last year.
“I’m proud to have been part of George’s career from Motorola to BMC. To think you can spend 16 years as a professional alone is a feat but in the Tour de France is even more remarkable,” Ochowicz said.
“George is now a mentor to this team the way he was mentored as a young rider with Motorola,” he added.
While the American makes it clear his “priority is to help Cadel” in this Tour, he still has mixed memories about his first race.
“My first Tour was incredibly hard. I was afraid I would crash and I crashed. I ended up with stitches to my head,” said the father of two, who quit the race for the first and only time in 1996.
“Today I’m more experienced, I’m fitter. In the three weeks of the Tour, every little bit counts. It’s all about riding your bike and resting. Nothing else matters,” he added.
Despite enjoying the ups and downs of the French countryside for a decade and a half, Hincapie’s happiest memory of the Tour was not experienced on his bike.
“My highlight on the Tour is not a cycling one, it was meeting my wife Melanie in Paris in 2003. We have had two beautiful children, so that’s obviously my highlight,” he said.
Although the American emulates Zoetemelk in terms of appearances, Hincapie will never be able to match his impressive race results after the Dutchman triumphed in 1980 and finished second on six other occasions.
The 38-year-old rode his first Tour with the Motorola team in 1996 and has participated in every edition since, helping Lance Armstrong win the race seven times from 1999 to 2005.
The New Yorker’s best final placing was 14th in 2005, when he won a stage in the Pyrenees, and the three-times American road champion also held the leader’s yellow jersey for one day in 2006.
“This record thing is making me nervous for the first time in many years at the start of the Tour,” said Hincapie, now riding for the BMC team led by Australian Cadel Evans.
“When I started, I was hoping to spend ten years as a pro and ride a couple of Tours. I could never imagine I would ride that many,” he added.
Hincapie is actually in his 18th professional season and was reunited with his first team director, Jim Ochowicz, when he joined BMC last year.
“I’m proud to have been part of George’s career from Motorola to BMC. To think you can spend 16 years as a professional alone is a feat but in the Tour de France is even more remarkable,” Ochowicz said.
“George is now a mentor to this team the way he was mentored as a young rider with Motorola,” he added.
While the American makes it clear his “priority is to help Cadel” in this Tour, he still has mixed memories about his first race.
“My first Tour was incredibly hard. I was afraid I would crash and I crashed. I ended up with stitches to my head,” said the father of two, who quit the race for the first and only time in 1996.
“Today I’m more experienced, I’m fitter. In the three weeks of the Tour, every little bit counts. It’s all about riding your bike and resting. Nothing else matters,” he added.
Despite enjoying the ups and downs of the French countryside for a decade and a half, Hincapie’s happiest memory of the Tour was not experienced on his bike.
“My highlight on the Tour is not a cycling one, it was meeting my wife Melanie in Paris in 2003. We have had two beautiful children, so that’s obviously my highlight,” he said.
Although the American emulates Zoetemelk in terms of appearances, Hincapie will never be able to match his impressive race results after the Dutchman triumphed in 1980 and finished second on six other occasions.
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