Jan Ullrich

[pete@nsmb.com]

What a stud! Anyone see the TT yesterday? He's riding the Giro to get in shape, and it really looked like it, until yesterday - clearly he's already in good form - we'll see how he does in the big mountains but maybe he got his preparation right this year and won't peak two weeks after the tour ends.

Jan winning the Tour this year, discuss.

[sanrensho]

I was impressed. He did a Lance--put (nearly) 30 seconds into the next placed rider in a long TT.

And he did it without pulling out the big artillery--just a low spoke count wheel vs. deep dish aero wheel.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2006/giro06/giro0611/JanUllrich.jpg

Still, all of it will be for naught if Der Kaiser cannot climb. I think it's a toss-up between Ullrich and Basso at the Tour, assuming that Basso finishes and wins the Giro. By burning some of his matches at the Giro, Basso is setting himself up for having that one horrendous day in the mountains where he bleeds a lot of time.

[wallyjames]

Ullrich is still packin some beef around the middle, but it always seems that way in the spring and he is good to go by July. He's got the horsepower on the flats but can he climb? There will be attacks from many directions, not just Lance's boys.

Basso's Giro is going according to plan so far. He has built a buffer and can afford to be selective in which attacks he covers in the mountainous final week. Whether it's enough remains to be seen - and what will it cost him to make the effort? As you say, it could all mean that one bad day in the Tour.

My money's on Vinokourov for the Tour. One of the best DSs in the business, a purpose-built team, and a slow steady build up.

[thewalrus]

I'm going to agree on Vinokourov for the tour. Anyone who saw his solo ascent of the Col du Galibier (stage 10 or 11?) in last year's tour knows he can climb nearly as well as Rasmussen. Rasmussen of course has no hope in the time-trials... But then, Virenque never destroyed the competition in the TT either. When you're going for the polka-dot jersey, you don't have any reason to. :D Vino is pretty decent in the solo TT, if not up to Armstrong standards.

Jan Ullrich so fat when he rode up L’Alpe D’Huez, he flattened the roads.*

Jan Ullrich so fat the broom wagon drafts him to save gas.*

Jan Ullrich so fat that fans thought T-Mobile placed a blimp in the middle of the peloton.*

Jan Ullrich so fat Graham Watson’s camera was too heavy after he took a picture of Jan Ullrich.

Jan Ullrich so fat, he makes Free Willy look like a tic tac

Jan Ullrich so fat he causes picture breakup just by sweating.

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he walked in front of the TV I missed 3 commercials

Jan Ullrich so fat, the last time he saw 90210 was on the scale

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he steps on the scale it says one at a time please

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he steps on the scale it says sorry we don’t do livestock

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he goes to a restaurant he gets an estimate

Jan Ullrich so fat, at a restaurant when they give his the menu he replies ” yes Please”

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he went to the beach Greenpeace tried to drag him back in the water.

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he went to get a water bed, they put a blanket across the Mediteranean sea.

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he put on the rainbow jersey, Skittle’s fell out.

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he tiptoes, everyone yells “Stampede!”

Jan Ullrich so fat, he makes sumo wrestlers look anorexic.

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he wear the yellow jersey he makes Big Bird look like a rubber duck.

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he wore a shirt with an AA on it, people thought it was American Airlines biggest jet.

Jan Ullrich so fat, Addidas had to kill 3 cows just to make his a pair of shoes.

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he goes to an all you can eat buffet, they have to install speed bumps.

Jan Ullrich so fat, I had to take a train and two busses just to get on his good side.

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he hauls ass, he has to make two trips.

Jan Ullrich so fat, they had to grease a door frame and hold a Twinkie on the othis side to get him through.

Jan Ullrich so fat, he can lay down and stand up and his height doesn’t change.

Jan Ullrich so fat, the horse on his Polo shirt is real.

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he runs he makes the CD player skip… at the radio station.

Jan Ullrich so fat, his belly jiggle is the first ever perpetual motion machine.

Jan Ullrich so fat, all the restaurants in town have signs that say: “Maximum Occupancy: 240 Patrons OR Jan Ullrich”

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he ran away, they had to use all four sides of the milk carton.

Jan Ullrich so fat, instead of wide leg jeans, he wears wide load.

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he gets in an elevator, it has to go down.

Jan Ullrich so fat, when I said I wanted “Pigs in a blanket” he got back in bed.

Jan Ullrich so fat, when he was diagnosed with the flesh eating disease, the doctor gave his 5 years to live.

Jan Ullrich so fat, he was born with a silver shovel in his mouth.

Jan Ullrich so fat, he’s got smaller fat cyclist orbiting around him.

Jan Ullrich so fat, a picture of his fell off the wall!

Jan Ullrich so fat, his picture takes two frames.

Jan Ullrich so fat, his cereal bowl came with a lifeguard.

[miffed]

^ thats harsh. But I dont think Jans the man, Id love it to be floyd, how great would that be, but basso is probs the man. Boonen has been halling ass in the spring tho with some good results he is 2nd in protour as well.

[Dantes Inferno]

I thought yan ulrich was a midevel night.

[Robot]

Looks like Jan isn't as fit as it appeared. He withdrew from the Giro during stage 19. Probably just before the nasty climbing started.

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=4042

[smoochy]

he's not that fat.
and even if he is, he's still doing pretty well for it and maintains youngest ever TDF winner i think?
if he would fucking train like a pro and party less in the off season, he would be winning everything. how can someone be that talented and let it slide every year?

[brian]

he dropped out today but he was just doing it as a training ride anyways.nice place to train.

[sanrensho]

Apparently, he was complaining of back pain before pulling out today. Geez, first it's his knees, then his back... But he always seems to come back strong in July.

I say he wins a close one over Basso this year, then retires so he can blow up to Lemond-like proportions. I see him as an ideal product shill for a food product like Nutella.

How do you say, "Eat it straight out of the jar!" in German?

[Robot]

I say he wins a close one over Basso this year, then retires so he can blow up to Lemond-like proportions. I see him as an ideal product shill for a food product like Nutella.

How do you say, "Eat it straight out of the jar!" in German?

I'm not sure Basso will be that spent after the Giro... Although he's obviously in peak form right now... It'll be interesting to see if a wavering Basso can defeat a wonky-kneed, sore back Ullrich in Le Tour or if someone else can emerge and snatch the event away. And then Jan can retire and pimp the Nutella.

[thewalrus]

I say he wins a close one over Basso this year, then retires so he can blow up to Lemond-like proportions. I see him as an ideal product shill for a food product like Nutella.

How do you say, "Eat it straight out of the jar!" in German?

Wouldn't be the first ex pro-cyclist to blow up to blimplike proportions. Charly Gaul, who was known as the Rasmussen of his day, got really fat later in life. He's the bearded guy on the left.

http://www.tourdefrance.nl/pics/fotos/58CharlyGaul.jpg

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2005/news/dec05/dec07news/CH9.jpg

[parts]

How do you say, "Eat it straight out of the jar!" in German?

thanks for the laugh!

Dunno if Basso will win the TdF but he'll beat Jan- @ that level it's so mental since they're all killer fit. A dude coming off a Giro win has the mental edge over a guy who dropped out early. After being a bridesmaid for so long, I don't think Jan can make it back up to the altar.

[cam@nsmb.com]

What a breath of fresh air this forum is.

I'm done with teen angst.

[sanrensho]

It'll be interesting to see if a wavering Basso can defeat a wonky-kneed, sore back Ullrich in Le Tour.

Jan will be fine for the Tour. His knee problems are well-documented (probably due to extra early season lbs) but he's always OK come July. There's a lot less climbing than in the Giro, so we'll see.

I definitely see visions of baumkuchen and bratwurst dancing in Jan's head, becoming him on to one last shot at glory and retirement.

[the flying moose]

i can't wait to see Le Tour this year. i wanna see who will step it up without Lance in the picture.

speaking of Basso, he has quite the looker as a sister.

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/babes/babes05/tdf05-basso.jpg

[Robot]

Jan will be fine for the Tour. His knee problems are well-documented (probably due to extra early season lbs) but he's always OK come July. There's a lot less climbing than in the Giro, so we'll see.

It'll definitely be interesting to see if Jan gets it all together in time. I can't imagine there'd be as much discussion about this if Jan hadn't been so dominant in Stage 11 (itt) at the Giro. If he'd finished middle of the pack on the day and dropped out of the race miles back of Basso it would have made the pessimist's case a stronger one.

I'm no Ullrich fan but that win at the Giro showed people like me that he can still throw it down and dominate. If he can string a few days like that together and stay mentally strong in the mountains, I'll give that he has a solid chance with the Tour.

There are a few killer storylines that'll play out in the weeks before the Tour... High drama all around.

[thewalrus]

i can't wait to see Le Tour this year. i wanna see who will step it up without Lance in the picture.

speaking of Basso, he has quite the looker as a sister.



http://bicirace.com/photo/2005/Giro/20/BassoSister.jpg

[sanrensho]

I'm no Ullrich fan

Me neither, but Lance has left such a void that I think fate will give us the anti-Lance as the next temporary heir to the throne.

A victory by Ullrich would be a victory for Everyman. It would be a victory for everyone that has reached for that extra beer in the fridge, thought twice about it... and then said, "What the hell."

It would be a victory for everyone that has plopped down in an armchair and wondered, "Who the hell stuffed four extra layers of clothing down the front of my pants?"... Only to realize that its your own gut.

It would be a victory for everyone that has cut that last quarter of cake in the fridge into two pieces, leaving one for your girlfriend/wife/SO... only to say, "Ah, f*ck it" and demolish the whole thing with zero regrets.

Jan is a symbol for the dark side in all of us. Go Jan!

[Robot]

Lance has left such a void that I think fate will give us the anti-Lance as the next temporary heir to the throne.

Armstrong's absence actually brings drama back to the Tour. This year, the race is partly about which one of the top riders can best overcome their weaknesses and edge out their competition (without having to worry about beating Armstrong). Can a prime Ullrich race healthy for three weeks? Will Basso double up with the Tour? Has Rasmussen learned to time trial?

But I can totally see Jan as Everyman and, even though I won't be laying any money down on him, I'll be thinking of him as I head to the fridge in about 15 minutes...

[smoochy]

i don't know why people think Jan doesn't have mental mountain toughness.
he got hammered three years in a row in the mountains by armstrong and still hung in, still gave it all, stage after stage, season after season, knowing full well armstrong had his number. he was THE man to beat, and he got beat and he still would never give up... give the guy some respect for that.

[brian]

i can't wait to see Le Tour this year. i wanna see who will step it up without Lance in the picture.


me too. I'm catching three of the mountain stages. Alpe d' huez for sure. don't know where I'll watch the other ones from. I'm in that area from the 16th to the 20th of July.

[white ri0t]

goddamn I love Jan.

[brian]

What a breath of fresh air this forum is.

I'm done with teen angst.

Not many teens here because to paraphrase Nacho Libre - "sometimes we like to wear the stretchy pants" http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/nacholibre/

[pete@nsmb.com]

Jan rode the Giro for fitness, not with GC aspirations - that's well documented. Having to drop out on the second or third last mountain stage is no biggie and certainly not a mental blow. Don't forget that other than Armstrong, he's the best Tour rider by far of the 90s. Basso does not have a mental edge over Jan in that respect.

Remember, too, that while Basso rode very impressively in a very hard Giro, a lot of guys are training only for the Tour - it's going to be way harder to win. Ullrich aside, there's Landis, Leipheimer, Valverde, Evans (who we pass on his training rides twice a week going the other way), Kloden (meh), etc, etc, all who didn't ride the Giro...Basso and Ullrich will be two of the main contenders, but it's not just down to them, that's for sure. How about Boonen and McEwen fighting it out to see who wears green? Rasmussen might be in polka dots, but you won't see him on the podium. Vino? I'm sad to say his Tour looks doubtful unless he can find another ride...I hope he makes it there one way or another because I love watching him ride.

[sanrensho]

Basso's Giro ride was damn impressive, but it ain't the Tour and you need to keep in perspective his competition at the Giro.

Gutierrez in second? Sandy Casar in 6th? Juan Manuel Garate in 7th? Except for Basso and Savoldelli, none of the Top 10 Giro finishers are capable of even cracking the Top 10 in the TdF. That's also true of Cunego/Simoni. Neither of the two can TT and Simoni has proven to be pretty useless for GC at the TdF.

It's the riders who make the race, and the big guns will be at the TdF. There will be no 9 minute gaps to 2nd place at the Main Event.

[wallyjames]

I never thought the Tour lacked drama during Lance's era. It was always interesting to see the forces arrayed against him and marking his moves and yet somehow he always found a way. Sure it's easy to feign boredom when the same person wins 7 years running, but none of those races were boring.

[Ninja]

I never thought the Tour lacked drama during Lance's era. It was always interesting to see the forces arrayed against him and marking his moves and yet somehow he always found a way. Sure it's easy to feign boredom when the same person wins 7 years running, but none of those races were boring.
Agree'd 100%

Although this Tour is going to be great. The rawness, of so many teams able to produce a winner, is going to be great.