A Step Back?

Since the retirement of Lance Armstrong, American cycling, at its highest level, has been on a slow downward descent. Armstrong's would-be successors (Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis) have been engulfed by doping scandals, and the subsequent big business backlash to renew sponsorships may leave American fans without a team for whom to root.

Now come reports from SportWereld that current American road race champion, George Hincapie, is "in touch" with T-Mobile. Hincapie whose contract with Discovery Channel runs out at the end of the year, faces the same plight that all the Discovery riders face come year's end; waiting for the current team to secure a new sponsor or seeking out job security with another team.

For Hincapie, a move to a European based team may be the needed lift to help him attain his goal of winning the jewels of the Spring Classics. But, the move of this American stalwart most likely spells the end of two decades of an American team competing in the European pro peloton.