HINCAPIE CLAIMS DAUPHINÉ STAGE WIN; CIOLEK WINS GERMAN ONE-DAY EVENT

DOUBLE DOWN DAY FOR HIGH ROAD!!

(June 10, 2008) – Tuesday June 10, 2008 was another double down day for Team High Road. Riding the prototype Giant TCR Advanced SL, American George Hincapie took an impressive victory on stage two of the Dauphiné Libéré from Bourg-Saint-Andeol to Vienne, France. And Gerald Ciolek of Germany won his country’s prestigious Sparkassen Cup in Schwenningen, Germany.

For Hincapie, after making an ultra-fast descent of the final drop-down to the stage finish Vienne, the veteran American staved off the peloton for a hard-earned win.

“We were initially working for [team-mate] Andre Greipel for the sprint,” said Hincapie, who moved up to fourth overall and took his first win since the last stage of the Tour of California. “That’s why we were waiting for him until five kilometres to go and we were not going with any of the attacks.”

Then with three kilometres to go, it became clear that Greipel was not going to get back in time to dispute the sprint. Said George: “We were going downhill at 70 kilometres-an-hour and [team sports director Allan] Peiper said ‘do your own race.’”

Hincapie said that he had started the eight-day stage race “…a little bit sick - I’d got fatigue from training during the team camp in the Pyrenees and had no power in the prologue [on Sunday]. Today, though, I could see I was feeling better and I was going to do the lead-out for Andre. But then I went for Sebastian [Chavanel of Francaise des Jeux] before the last corner and had to do a big effort to catch him.”

George continued, “Then I rested slightly, sat on his wheel for 100 meters, and then came round and won. It was a great finish!”

After fifteen years as a professional cyclist, Hincapie is enthusiastic about his role in his first year on the High Road team where “…we have a lot of pressure because we are so successful. Here I find myself doing a lot of lead-outs for the some of the best sprinters in the world, we have guys who can do time trials; we have guys for all sorts of different races. It’s a lot of fun and it’s very inspiring for me as an older pro to have such a great group of talented young riders at High Road to give advice to - not that I think they need much!”

CIOLEK BEATS COUNTRYMEN IN GERMANY
Ciolek, the 21 year old who won two stages of the Bayern Rundfahrt two weeks ago, outsprinted veteran Jens Voigt of Team CSC and more than 3 dozen other fast riders at the finish line and claimed another High Road victory in the 10th Sparkassen Cup in Schwenningen, Germany.