Jan Ullrich is touring the USA. After a visit to his former rival and current friend Lance Armstrong during the week, the Gran Fondo Hincapie was on the programme for the German ex-professional cyclist last Saturday.
Gran Fondo Hincapie: Collecting donations after Hurricane Helene
The event has existed since 2012 and was founded by former professional cyclist George Hincapie - once a team-mate of Armstrong. In 2024, the event in the USA had a very special motto. Donations were collected for the victims of Hurricane Helene. At the end of September, the storm had swept across the south-east of the country and devastated entire regions - the states of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina were particularly affected. The aim of the Gran Fondo Hincapie was to raise one million US dollars, which was to go directly to Polk County in North Carolina - one of the regions worst hit by Helene, in the immediate vicinity of Greenville.
Almost 3,000 participants were registered for the event. In addition to Ullrich, there were other celebrities from the cycling scene at the start, including Mark Cavendish, record stage winner at the Tour de France, and his British compatriot Bradley Wiggins - winner of the Tour of France 2012. There were also several other events as part of the Gran Fondo, where Ullrich and Co. were also on show.
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Jan Ullrich visits Lance Armstrong
The German had already visited his former rival Lance Armstrong in Austin (Texas) at the beginning of last week. The two reported extensively on their joint activities on social media. Armstrong and Ullrich's programme included training together in the gym and a motorboat tour.
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Armstrong, now 53, and his former rival, who was three years younger, fought a duel in the Tour de France for years in the early 2000s, which the American always won. In 2012, Armstrong was stripped of his seven victories in the Tour of France for doping, and in 2013 he confessed to doping abuse. Ullrich took this step at the end of 2023 and a major documentary series was released at the end of last year about the only German Tour de France winner, which TOUR has analysed in detail.
