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

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!

Hincapie Development Team Opens Season

February 22, 2010 11:09 by Steve Baker

After a long hard winter (by South Carolina standards…ha ha) we saw some nice warm sunshine this weekend for the first weekend of the Greenville Spring Training Series.  It was awesome weather for racing bikes, especially in February.  Thanks to all the folks that came out to enjoy the first weekend of competition.

Jimmy Helms captured some of the action at the BMW Performance Center.

The Hincapie Development Team had several members racing this weekend and it was a great weekend for the team.  There were 6 of us in the Cat 3 races and several in the Pro,1,2 races.  The main goal was to get our legs under us and blow out the winter cobwebs.  The Cat 3 team worked well together and really affected the races in good ways.  We took some lessons we learned on Saturday and put them into practice on Sunday.  With a strong team riding smart, we helped create the winning break.  Hincapie Development Team rider, Justin Lowe managed a 6th place finish at the BMW Performance Center on Sunday.  Coach Neil Browne and the mentors teamed up with Devo rider, Parker Kyzer to control the field and help push the winning move up the road.  Great job team on the awesome teamwork and fun racing.

Eddie Helton took some awesome pictures this weekend. This is Justin Lowe leading the field.

Hincapie Development rider, Matt Lipscomb showed some early season fitness with some strong rides in the Pro,1,2 races.  Matt was animated the entire weekend, joining many breaks and demonstrating his abilities.  (Matt is heading over to Europe with the USA Junior National Team in the end of March, so he’s been training hard this winter.  You can tell he’s ready to take on the world in some early season Junior races in North Europe, including the Junior Paris-Roubaix.)  We’re glad to see Matt doing well early in the season.

Thanks to SCTAC (Donaldson Center) and the BMW Performance Center for letting us host races in both locations this weekend.  It was a great turnout and lots of fun.  Look for more updates following next weekend’s racing action.  Thanks to all our friends, family, sponsors and supporters for helping us make all this happen.

Justin Lowe leads Steve Baker and group at SCTAC on Saturday.

Parker Kyzer on his new BMC ProMachine, Oakley Jawbones and Giro Ionos. 

Parker Kyzer encouraging Coach Neil Browne...or is he saying great pull after Neil's monster effort...? 

You can see more of Eddie Helton's Photos at this website.

First 2010 Training Camp

February 12, 2010 00:06 by Steve Baker

The cold temperatures couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the riders at the Hincapie Development Team Training Camp this weekend. The team got together in Greenville for the first time this season. George Hincapie joined us for the activities, as he always takes an active role in the development of the riders on the team. George's BMC teammate and former Hincapie Devo Team member, Chris Butler rode with the team as well.

The team did some training on some of George’s favorite roads around Greenville. Thanks to Ric and his fellow wrenches at The Great Escape bicycle shop, the team was rolling on their new BMC ProMachine bicycles. Everyone got comfortable on the new bikes, which were outfitted with Shimano Dura Ace components and Thomson stems and seat posts. These guys really are riding the best equipment in the world. Look for more photos and information on the team in upcoming posts.

George and Chris Butler setting a good tempo.