George Hincapie (Columbia-HTC) won his third national title in Sunday’s US Pro Road Race championships held in his hometown Greenville, South Carolina.
Having won the same title in 1998 and 2006, the 36 year old showed he still had the power in his legs to hold off Andrew Bajadali (Kelly Benefits Strategies) and Jeff Louder (BMC Racing Team) in the three-up sprint.
Halfway through the last lap Louder attacked the break of eight and was able to maintain a gap. In the final kilometre Hincapie surged to catch the BMC rider, with only Bajadali left in his wheel.
At the 300m mark Bajadali opened the sprint, but Hincapie, who rode the final five stages of this year’s Tour de France with a broken collarbone, passed him to win in front of his home crowd.
“It was very emotional for me since it’s my hometown. I did feel a lot of pressure. But to win with all that pressure is a great feeling. I had the whole city wanting me to win and I’m glad it worked out. To wear the stars and stripes is always special,” said Hincapie after the finish.