The Loyal Lieutenant: Leading Out Lance and Pushing Through the Pain on the Rocky Road to Paris

George Hincapie is one of the most recognized cyclists in the world--a record seventeen-time Tour de France participant, Olympian, beloved teammate, and celebrated lead-out man for Lance Armstrong. It was his sterling reputation that enabled him to publicly rise above a doping confession that shocke [...]
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George Hincapie is one of the most recognized cyclists in the world--a record seventeen-time Tour de France participant, Olympian, beloved teammate, and celebrated lead-out man for Lance Armstrong. It was his sterling reputation that enabled him to publicly rise above a doping confession that shocked not only the cycling community but the entire sports world when he became a key witness in the case of Lance Armstrong and drugs in cycling. For the first time since that confession, "Big George" reflects on his years as a world-class rider, offering an honest and compelling account of not only a dark period in professional cycling but the demands required of the best in the field. Hincapie's life has been intrinsically tied to the sport he loves. Raised in Queens, New York, in a tight-knit Colombian family, he grew up with his father's love of cycling and the Colombian "cycling warrior" archetype. Chronicling the exhilarating ride of his career, he takes us through his adrenaline-junkie amateur years to the Olympics, going professional, and reaching his true calling as Lance Armstrong's most prized "domestique"--a role in which Hincapie would lead his then best friend to seven straight Tour de France victories. In The Loyal Lieutenant, Hincapie speaks openly about his relationship with Armstrong, which was so integral to both of their successes. He addresses how he himself began doping and why he chose to quit long before the headline-making revelations--and, finally, what led to the testimony that broke Armstrong's case. The Loyal Lieutenant is George Hincapie's story: the per-sonal evolution of a cycling superhero coming clean about his past to, he hopes, help restore honor to the sport he loves.