Lipscomb and Turner Shine at Tour de l'Abitibi

August 16, 2010 09:39 by Steve Baker

Two Hincapie Development Team riders received guest rides for one of the biggest UCI Junior Stage Races in the world.  Matt Lipscomb and Blair Turner were each invited to ride on a composite team for the Tour de l’Abitibi, a 7 Stage UCI Junior Stage Race in Canada.  L’Abitibi attracts some of the world’s most competitive 17-18 year old cyclists, so the competition is fierce.  It's one of the longest running UCI Junior Stage Races in the world and many top professionals got their start racing l'Abitibi.  Steve Bauer, Andy Hampsten, Bobby Julich, Laurant Jalabert all raced before launching their professional careers.  Even our very own Rich Hincapie pinned a number on in Canada when he was 18.  This year’s race featured national junior teams from the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Thailand, Belize and many other regional teams.  Lipscomb competed on the USA Cycling Southeastern Regional Team while Turner rode with the DIY Music Team.  Both riders made us proud with strong results throughout the week.  In the end, two Hincapie Devo riders finished in the top 10 on GC.  Lipscomb was 7th and Turner was 9th overall.  Big thanks to our friends for giving several of our riders a chance to show their stuff in Canada.  Turner gave us an account of his week.

Hincapie Devo's Turner (guest riding for DIY Music) stood on the podium in 3rd place on Stage 4.

"Tour de l'Abitibi was a race I intended to do starting the season, but as it got closer, it looked as it was not going to happen. Luckily, DIY Music gave me a spot the week before the race start. Going into the race, I had an idea of what to expect. Lots of aggressive racing and chaos. For the first couple of stages I sat in and felt things out. Then, after the time trial, I knew I had to go on the attack. On stage four, I went out on the attack. I got in a good sized move, and we rolled it all day. Coming into the finish, I knew who to watch. I had put in a couple of attacks, but they weren't having it. So with about 1k to go, things got heated up when a US national team rider put in a good attack off the front. Luckily, he was brought back and the sprinter who won the first stage decided to try and take it from about 500 meters out. I jumped on his wheel and came around him with about two hundred meters to go. Unfortunately, I was also overtaken by two riders in the last 25 meters."

Turner Spints to 3rd place on Stage 4 at Tour de l'Abitibi.

"I was disappointed, but at least I gave it a go and made the podium. After this stage it moved me up to ninth in GC. The next days would see us defending the top ten and trying to move up. The last stage sorted out the weak as we drove the pace through the crosswinds and ended up with twenty guys in the front group. I went for time bonuses and tried to stay fresh for the finish.  I ended up 9th on the day and 9th overall. I was satisfied, and it was a good way to end the week. I’m still looking for that win this year, and I'm confident it will come before the year is up."
Blair

Blair Turner on the Podium

July 1, 2010 13:21 by Steve Baker

The Hincapie Development Team had a great trip to the Junior Road National Championships in Bend, OR.  The team rode well and gave it their best shot to win a stars and stripes jersey.  They came close, scoring some hardware and some great new memories.

The crew in Bend, OR.

The guys went into the event with some great fitness.  Mike Stone was coming off some fresh victories and hoping to continue the trend out west.  Blair Turner just about flew straight to Oregon from Europe, where he has been proving his metal in Belgian Kermesses.  Matt Lipscomb scored some great results leading up to the trip, so we knew he was going great.  Tyler Karnes was eager to show his fitness after a strong collegiate season of racing.  Aubrey Moore was seeking another podium after winning his state championships in May.  Justin Lowe was feeling good after recovering from a nagging knee problem.  Parker Kyzer was excited to show his stuff in his first National Championship competition.  They all raced hard and had fun in the process.

Matt looking huge before the unfortunate crash.

Blair leading the way in the Crit.

Crashes took some of the guys out of action, but we were close more often than not to that elusive podium appearance.  Thanks to some great team work and hard riding, Blair Turner scored a great 5th place finish in the 17-18 road race, after making the early move that stuck all the way to the finish.  That’s his first national championship podium, and he’ll be looking to improve on it next year.  We’re really proud of the guys for the way they raced and we look forward to the rest of the season.

 Blair Turner gets 5th in 17-18 Road Race!

Thanks to all of you for the great support you have given the team.  Thanks to coach Neil Browne for making the trip to Bend with the team.  Big thanks to Mike Moore, Greg Kyzer, Russell Lipscomb and all the other parents, friends and supporters that helped make everything happen.  We couldn’t do this without you.

Blair Turner 25th in First Belgian Race

April 26, 2010 12:50 by Steve Baker

Hincapie Devo Rider, Blair Turner is guest riding with a team in Belgium for a few weeks.  It’s his first trip to Europe racing his bicycle and he’s doing great.  He finished 25th in his first race this weekend.  We’re really proud of him.  Here’s what he had to say about the adventure.

“I finished my first race. I got 25th in this race in the hills. I almost made it up to the winning move with two to go. Still have to figure the racing out. Hard racing here, but it's good.”
Blair

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!