Quoted message said:A quick disclaimer; I consider myself a fan of the sport first, and I have favorites that might
change over time. Jan Ullrich is a guy I have rooted for off and on over the years. I expected so
much more from him that he
has
Quoted message said:accomplished year to date, but I am sort of rootinf for him as the
underdog.
Quoted message said:
So...how did he become an undergog? The guy that had 2 podium finishes including an outright win
before he got too old for the white jersey
(under
Quoted message said:25), is now almost thirty with not too many "W"s.
In this year's Tour ITT that he dominated, he had the killer look on his face. When is that going
to return for good, or will it? I think he had a great Tour, other than the one stage to Alp
d'Huez. I guess I thought he had a good chance at teh HEW Cyclassic, but even Phil Ligget picked
Bettini
Quoted message said:in the last kilo to win in a group that I would have thought Jan at least
an
Quoted message said:even bet. He used to be able to sprint from small groups like this and he
is
Quoted message said:just missing that last killer blow.
Will it ever return?
You have to put things into perspective; your expectations of what Ullrich was capable of doing this
year were far greater than his own, as well as most others.
The guy has not had an easy time lately. His absence from racing wasn't exactly a vacation, what
with his various personal issues (crashing a car while presumably inebrieated, drug violation
from attending a party he shouldn't have been at, and I'd even toss in his girlfriend's
pregnancy). Hardly a low-stress time in his life! But instead of self-destructing, he seems to
have pulled himself together and become, once again, one of the most competitive Grand Tour
cyclists in the world.
Regarding sprinting... those who win the TDF tend to be people who, earlier in their careers, had
what it took to sprint with the best of them, but evolved into specialists in the areas that are
more likely to gain advantage over the rest of the field in stage racing- time trials & climbing.
Winning a bunch sprint has become a specialty all its own, with hot competition for the Green Jersey
among those who wouldn't even consider riding for GC. Guys who are built for explosive speed over
relatively short distances, and who are willing to take chances (risk crashing) in pursuit of a
stage win. A very different breed from your GC champion of today!
I think Ullrich rode excpetionally well, and served notice that he's back, perhaps as strong as
ever, and getting even stronger. Without Lance in the field, I think he would have been a commanding
presence, even without benefit of a great team. In the end, I'd say his list of accomplishments this
year is impressive indeed!
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗
