On Sunday, the USPS’ George Hincapie sprinted to a fourth place finish at the
Trofeo Luis Puig, a 186 km race from Valencia to Benidorm. Hincapie finished with
the same time as winner Erik Zabel of Telekom. Bruyneel was very pleased with the
team’s effort at the race, especially with the finishing effort of Viatcheslav Ekimov,
Marty Jemison and Frankie Andreu, whose work at the front of the race towards the
finish helped ensure the race would come down to a sprint finish. Bruyneel confirmed
that Hincapie will be the team’s top rider though the early part of the season, and,
with the addition of Ekimov, another skilled rider in the World Cup and Classic events,
the team should be much stronger.