Stone Scores First Pro,1,2 Victory!

March 10, 2010 14:04 by Steve Baker

It was a fantastic weekend for the Hincapie Development Team.  The weekend was capped off by an impressive win at the SCTAC (Donaldson) Road Race by our very own, Michael Stone in the last race of the Greenville Spring Training Series.  This was Michael’s first Pro,1,2 win and we’re just as excited as he is about the victory.  The entire team contributed to the effort by staying active at the front and covering moves all day.  The guys are riding well together and having a good time as well.

The result on Sunday followed a very difficult day of racing on Saturday at the River Falls RR.  River Falls features a short 1K climb to the finish on a 5.5 mile course in the foothills of SC.  The race is known to attract some stiff competition that combines with the challenging terrain to make it one of the most difficult races of the whole series.

The Hincapie Devo Team was animated from the start, with numerous attacks early on.  Michael Stone and Matt Lipscomb quickly found themselves in a promising break that put over 2 minutes on the field.  They rode strong for several laps until Team Type 1 started working hard to pull back the escapees.  A small group bridged the gap and joined Stone and Lipscomb at the front.  Our dynamic duo held their own and rode like veterans in the front group until the end.  After the bridge, one rider from the original break got away again and won solo.  Michael and Matt finished in the front group after a very hard early season race day.

The Hincapie Devo cat 3 squad raced well Saturday and Sunday as well.  We were happy to have Parker Kyzer back on a bike after his crash last week.  The team rode aggressively on the hilly River Falls course, but was not successful motivating a group.  One lone rider did escape and finish off the front for the win.  The rest of the field remained together until the last hill.  Justin Lowe and Parker both finished close to the front, with Justin making the top ten.

Sunday’s SCTAC (Donaldson) RR was fun for the team as well.  We were active at the front with numerous attacks and counter attacks from the start.  The guys rode well up front, covering the early moves and making sure we were present in most of the groups.  Hincapie Devo mentor, Neil Browne found himself in the most aggressive move of the day late in the race, garnering a strong third place finish.  Parker covered the next group that attempted to bridge to the leaders, and the rest of us covered the field.  Justin and Randy scored 10th and 12th place respectively to go along with Parker’s eighth place finish in the chase group.  Overall, it was a great weekend for the entire team.  Well done, men.

Images by Eddie Helton

Knocked Out

March 9, 2010 08:46 by Parker Kyzer

Everyone who is involved in cycling knows there are crashes. We try to not think about crashing, but we all know if you race you will crash. Many times it is a simple rider error and other times it seems to just happen. It is a question of when, and how bad.

I had a accident last weekend myself. I was knocked out for a few minutes and suffered a concussion. After going to the hospital and having a CT scan the doctor said everything was alright. Of course my next question was, when can I ride next? To my suprise he said I could start riding as long as I did not have a headache or feel nausea. I did what he said and took it day by day. By the end of the week I felt like I was able to ride and got out for a short spin. After feeling no symptoms on the ride I made plans to race on the weekend. I didn't know what to expect of my body from not training during the week. The number one goal was to be safe and not have a repeat. I was able to have a decent race considering it was only a week since the crash. Thanks to all my teammates, friends, and family who supported me as that is the one positive takeaway from a accident.

Parker Kyzer

The BMC Sparkle, Sparkles!

March 5, 2010 17:29 by Steve Baker

Former Hincapie Development Team rider, Chris Butler stopped by Hincapie Sportswear headquarters today with current Hincapie Devo member Blair Turner.  The duo was in town for the last weekend of the Greenville Spring Training Series.  It’s always nice to see these guys.  They are always up for a little fun, and this time we caught them on film clownin’ around.

These guys must not be eating much these days.  I don’t say that because they look super skinny (although they do).  I say that because they descended on the donuts and banana bread at our coffee bar like a couple of hawks to the kill!  We actually got a couple of great celebrity paparazzi shots with the whole mouth full, hand in front of the camera and the “this better not make the internet” fire in their eyes…ha ha.

After dusting the powdered sugar off their fingers, they started eying up the BMC Sparkle we have in the office to help dress up our women’s catalog photos.  Chris went through a very extensive bike fit at the BMC training camp, but I think he’s thinking of changing his position.  Check out this beauty…

Blair wanted to get his picture taken with none other than current World Champion, Cadel Evans.  He enjoyed the whole experience.  Afterwards, Blair said, “Cadel seems like a great guy.  He’s taller than I thought.”

Thanks for stopping by guys.  Best of luck in the races this weekend.  Keep your heads up and the wheels down!