Ullrich on Luz-Ardiden, in his own words (well, actually, in my English)
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my poor translation from janullrich.de:
Hallo fans,
At the end of the day all heads asked if it was right for me to wait. I still say YES!
Bicycle racing is the hardest sport. It needs this "Fairness" [in english]! Even though it was not
the same two years ago when Armstrong waited, because he had a comfortable lead, and this time the
overall victory was at stake, still I would always do the same thing.
It wasn't right for Mayo and Zubeldia to sprint for the time bonuses, when they hadn't done any of
the work at the front. They don't need the seconds. But I might miss those seconds at the finish.
I'm also thinking of the 1989 Tour when I say this. I watched it on TV at the time and can still see
Fignon's face when Greg Lemond won. It could become tight this time around as well.
Every day I will look for my chance. I want to win this tour. I've never been so close to Armstrong.
I can sense that my best form is coming on.
And if, after Saturday's time trial, only a few second separate us, then it will be legitimate to
attck on Sunday -- equally legitimate, whether it's myself or Lance in the lead.
Yours,
Jan Ullrich
It should be fun to see the riders dash their champagne "glasses" on the pavement to pursue attacks
on Sunday.
Bob C. "Shayana Kadidal" <dershanek@aol.com> wrote in message
news:e59b350a.0307221108.61891347@posting.google.com...
> my poor translation from janullrich.de:
>
> Hallo fans,
>
> At the end of the day all heads asked if it was right for me to wait. I still say YES!
>
> Bicycle racing is the hardest sport. It needs this "Fairness" [in english]! Even though it was not
> the same two years ago when Armstrong waited, because he had a comfortable lead, and this time the
> overall victory was at stake, still I would always do the same thing.
>
> It wasn't right for Mayo and Zubeldia to sprint for the time bonuses, when they hadn't done any of
> the work at the front. They don't need the seconds. But I might miss those seconds at the finish.
>
> I'm also thinking of the 1989 Tour when I say this. I watched it on TV at the time and can still
> see Fignon's face when Greg Lemond won. It could become tight this time around as well.
>
> Every day I will look for my chance. I want to win this tour. I've never been so close to
> Armstrong. I can sense that my best form is coming on.
>
> And if, after Saturday's time trial, only a few second separate us, then it will be legitimate to
> attck on Sunday -- equally legitimate, whether it's myself or Lance in the lead.
>
> Yours,
>
> Jan Ullrich
"Shayana Kadidal" <dershanek@aol.com> wrote in message
news:e59b350a.0307221108.61891347@posting.google.com...
> my poor translation from janullrich.de:
>
> Hallo fans,
>
> At the end of the day all heads asked if it was right for me to wait. I still say YES!
>
> Bicycle racing is the hardest sport. It needs this "Fairness" [in english]! Even though it was not
> the same two years ago when Armstrong waited, because he had a comfortable lead, and this time the
> overall victory was at stake, still I would always do the same thing.
>
> It wasn't right for Mayo and Zubeldia to sprint for the time bonuses, when they hadn't done any of
> the work at the front. They don't need the seconds. But I might miss those seconds at the finish.
>
> I'm also thinking of the 1989 Tour when I say this. I watched it on TV at the time and can still
> see Fignon's face when Greg Lemond won. It could become tight this time around as well.
>
> Every day I will look for my chance. I want to win this tour. I've never been so close to
> Armstrong. I can sense that my best form is coming on.
>
> And if, after Saturday's time trial, only a few second separate us, then it will be legitimate to
> attck on Sunday -- equally legitimate, whether it's myself or Lance in the lead.
>
> Yours,
>
> Jan Ullrich
Thanks for the translation, I knew that Jan was a class act.
Dashii
Shayana Kadidal <dershanek@aol.com> wrote:
> my poor translation from janullrich.de:
> Hallo fans,
> At the end of the day all heads asked if it was right for me to wait. I still say YES!
> Bicycle racing is the hardest sport. It needs this "Fairness" [in english]! Even though it was not
> the same two years ago when Armstrong waited, because he had a comfortable lead, and this time the
> overall victory was at stake, still I would always do the same thing.
> It wasn't right for Mayo and Zubeldia to sprint for the time bonuses, when they hadn't done any of
> the work at the front. They don't need the seconds. But I might miss those seconds at the finish.
OK, he's spoken. Now, has anyone gotten a quote from Mayo?
> I'm also thinking of the 1989 Tour when I say this. I watched it on TV at the time and can still
> see Fignon's face when Greg Lemond won. It could become tight this time around as well.
> Every day I will look for my chance. I want to win this tour. I've never been so close to
> Armstrong. I can sense that my best form is coming on.
> And if, after Saturday's time trial, only a few second separate us, then it will be legitimate to
> attck on Sunday -- equally legitimate, whether it's myself or Lance in the lead.
> Yours,
> Jan Ullrich
Originally posted by Shayana Kadidal
my poor translation from janullrich.de:
Hallo fans,
At the end of the day all heads asked if it was right for me to wait. I still say YES!
<snip>
Yours,
Jan Ullrich
Thank you Shayana - that was the best thing I've read today.
>Every day I will look for my chance. I want to win this tour. I've never been so close to
>Armstrong. I can sense that my best form is coming on.
>
>And if, after Saturday's time trial, only a few second separate us, then it will be legitimate to
>attck on Sunday -- equally legitimate, whether it's myself or Lance in the lead.
You go girls! Wow that will be interesting, but it's true that with 20 seconds on either side of the
coin, it's going to be up for grabs! I might actually try to get there
>
>Yours,
>
>Jan Ullrich
>> It wasn't right for Mayo and Zubeldia to sprint for the time bonuses, when they hadn't done any
>> of the work at the front. They don't need the seconds. But I might miss those seconds at the
>> finish.
>
>OK, he's spoken. Now, has anyone gotten a quote from Mayo?
Mayo is either hiding or feeling too guilty to talk.
Shayana Kadidal wrote:
> And if, after Saturday's time trial, only a few second separate us, then it will be legitimate to
> attck on Sunday -- equally legitimate, whether it's myself or Lance in the lead.
Cooooool! How many is "a few"?
Keith <nospam@nospam.com> wrote:
>>> It wasn't right for Mayo and Zubeldia to sprint for the time bonuses, when they hadn't done any
>>> of the work at the front. They don't need the seconds. But I might miss those seconds at the
>>> finish.
>>
>>OK, he's spoken. Now, has anyone gotten a quote from Mayo?
> Mayo is either hiding or feeling too guilty to talk.
If he's as evil as the locals here think, I doubt either...
> >>OK, he's spoken. Now, has anyone gotten a quote from Mayo?
>
> > Mayo is either hiding or feeling too guilty to talk.
Have you checked any Spanish news or sports sites to be sure?
The majority of the media is a bit disappointed with EE. They did not have a clear race plan.
Apparently Mayo was suppossed to try to win it. They were suppossed to hang on Ullrich/Jan wheel and
attack him/them in the last port.
But Zubeldia had problems at he end of the Tourmalet. Then Mayo could not hold on Lance in his
counter. At that point Zubeldia claims he was feeling pretty good to try to push and put some more
time on Vino, but the DS demanded he would hold (to gain what? ). At the end, nobody knows/explained
why they both sprinted with Jan. I think that one problem is many cyclists are quite indiferent
about Jan (personally). On the other hand Lance is much more charismatic and admired/hated and he
has much more leverage in such situations.
Maybe Jan should have talked with these two about what the outcome was suppossed to be. It is too
bad he only seems to have some emotion in his web page! Public relations are also part of the
repertoire of the cyclist. And historically I do not think that Jan has too many people owing him.
As for the sprint, I would say that the opinion of people is about the same as in this group. Mostly
think it was a mistake to sprint Jan. They were useless seconds (some even talk about a pact with
the devil (USPS)). But nobody seem to have asked the cyclists themselves about the finish.
"Carl Sundquist" <carlsun@cox-internet.com> wrote in message
news:vhrglka47juvdd@corp.supernews.com...
>
> > >>OK, he's spoken. Now, has anyone gotten a quote from Mayo?
> >
> > > Mayo is either hiding or feeling too guilty to talk.
>
> Have you checked any Spanish news or sports sites to be sure?
"Dashi Toshii" <Toshii@Jpn.com> wrote in message news:GUSdnX68F-7pBYCiXTWJkw@comcast.com...
>
> "Shayana Kadidal" <dershanek@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:e59b350a.0307221108.61891347@posting.google.com...
> > my poor translation from janullrich.de:
> >
> > Hallo fans,
> >
> > At the end of the day all heads asked if it was right for me to wait. I still say YES!
> >
> > Bicycle racing is the hardest sport. It needs this "Fairness" [in english]! Even though it was
> > not the same two years ago when Armstrong waited, because he had a comfortable lead, and this
> > time the overall victory was at stake, still I would always do the same thing.
> >
> > It wasn't right for Mayo and Zubeldia to sprint for the time bonuses, when they hadn't done any
> > of the work at the front. They don't need the seconds. But I might miss those seconds at the
> > finish.
> >
> > I'm also thinking of the 1989 Tour when I say this. I watched it on TV at the time and can still
> > see Fignon's face when Greg Lemond won. It could become tight this time around as well.
> >
> > Every day I will look for my chance. I want to win this tour. I've never been so close to
> > Armstrong. I can sense that my best form is coming on.
> >
> > And if, after Saturday's time trial, only a few second separate us, then it will be legitimate
> > to attck on Sunday -- equally legitimate, whether it's myself or Lance in the lead.
> >
> > Yours,
> >
> > Jan Ullrich
>
> Thanks for the translation, I knew that Jan was a class act.
>
I honestly didn't. But I do now. He's a worthy champion. I'll never root against him again
(unless of course he's up against Lance or another American). Instead Mayo and Zubeldia have the
wrath of my anger
> Dashii
> >And if, after Saturday's time trial, only a few second separate us, then it will be legitimate to
> >attck on Sunday -- equally legitimate, whether it's myself or Lance in the lead.
>
> You go girls! Wow that will be interesting, but it's true that with 20 seconds on either side of
> the coin, it's going to be up for grabs! I might actually try to get there
Actually, 20 seconds at the finish plus three intermediate sprints for a possible 38 seconds total.
Would be cool to watch the two of them blast away from the start and finish like Zoetemelk and
Hinault in 1979.
--Shayana Kadidal
"Ed-D" <rado4b0202@sneakemail.com> wrote in message
news:nJlTa.11635$634.1075@nwrdny03.gnilink.net...
> "Dashi Toshii" <Toshii@Jpn.com> wrote in message news:GUSdnX68F-7pBYCiXTWJkw@comcast.com...
> >
> > "Shayana Kadidal" <dershanek@aol.com> wrote in message
> > news:e59b350a.0307221108.61891347@posting.google.com...
> > > my poor translation from janullrich.de:
> > >
> > > Hallo fans,
> > >
> > > At the end of the day all heads asked if it was right for me to wait. I still say YES!
> > >
> > > Bicycle racing is the hardest sport. It needs this "Fairness" [in english]! Even though it was
> > > not the same two years ago when Armstrong waited, because he had a comfortable lead, and this
> > > time the overall victory was at stake, still I would always do the same thing.
> > >
> > > It wasn't right for Mayo and Zubeldia to sprint for the time bonuses, when they hadn't done
> > > any of the work at the front. They don't need the seconds. But I might miss those seconds at
> > > the finish.
> > >
> > > I'm also thinking of the 1989 Tour when I say this. I watched it on TV at the time and can
> > > still see Fignon's face when Greg Lemond won. It could become tight this time around as well.
> > >
> > > Every day I will look for my chance. I want to win this tour. I've never been so close to
> > > Armstrong. I can sense that my best form is coming on.
> > >
> > > And if, after Saturday's time trial, only a few second separate us, then it will be legitimate
> > > to attck on Sunday -- equally legitimate, whether it's myself or Lance in the lead.
> > >
> > > Yours,
> > >
> > > Jan Ullrich
> >
> > Thanks for the translation, I knew that Jan was a class act.
> >
>
> I honestly didn't. But I do now. He's a worthy champion. I'll never root against him again (unless
> of course he's up against Lance or another American). Instead Mayo and Zubeldia have the wrath of
> my anger
>
> > Dashii
> >
> >
>
Everyone wants to attack Mayo and Zubeldia, but tell me you wouldn't do the same in the same
situation?
I am sure none of you have ever wheelsucked and then sprinted around someone at the end. They aren't
really competing against Ullrich and Armstrong anymore, they are competing against Vino. They were
happy with the pace up the mountain, knowing that they were making time against Vino and the bonus
seconds mean just as much to them trying to get to third and the podium as they do to Ullrich
getting first.
They also knew that Ullrich would fight and that it was his race to lose - they weren't going to
really lose anything that day - they were gaining.
I don't applaud them for not working, but I don't know that I wouldn't do the same thing.
"Carl Sundquist" wrote ...
> > >>OK, he's spoken. Now, has anyone gotten a quote from Mayo?
>
> > > Mayo is either hiding or feeling too guilty to talk.
>
> Have you checked any Spanish news or sports sites to be sure?
Not hiding, not feeling guilty. http://www.deia.com/23-7-2003/23Bizkir5051C.htm
"As far as I know, Tour rules do not state that first and second positions belong to Armstrong and
Ullrich. What he says is nonsense. Everyone rides its own race"
By the way, Bettini sprinted for second in Gap. Noone called him a punk. Mayo outsprinted Lance that
day and took 8 bonus seconds from him. He only took 4 seconds from Ullrich in Luz Ardiden. I don't
quite understand Mayo's behaviour, but Ullrich should be the last to complain, particularly if it's
true that Mayo pulled for the last 500m (not only the sprint)
Jenko
sallyjenko@yahoo.com (Jenko) wrote in message
news:<e6a593bf.0307222236.22fca62b@posting.google.com>...
> "Carl Sundquist" wrote ...
> > > >>OK, he's spoken. Now, has anyone gotten a quote from Mayo?
>
> > > > Mayo is either hiding or feeling too guilty to talk.
> >
> > Have you checked any Spanish news or sports sites to be sure?
>
> Not hiding, not feeling guilty. http://www.deia.com/23-7-2003/23Bizkir5051C.htm
>
> "As far as I know, Tour rules do not state that first and second positions belong to Armstrong and
> Ullrich. What he says is nonsense. Everyone rides its own race"
>
> By the way, Bettini sprinted for second in Gap. Noone called him a punk. Mayo outsprinted Lance
> that day and took 8 bonus seconds from him. He only took 4 seconds from Ullrich in Luz Ardiden. I
> don't quite understand Mayo's behaviour, but Ullrich should be the last to complain, particularly
> if it's true that Mayo pulled for the last 500m (not only the sprint)
>
> Jenko
Thanks for the link.
Fact: Mayo did not pull during the last 500m, he was sucking Ullrich's wheel for as long as he
could. He refused to contribute. It was pure parasitical behavior.
If he thinks its all right to act like that, then he rightly deserves to be criticized and
despised. "Anything goes" and "winning is everything" is not acceptable, he will learn that the
hard way. How long did it take him to forget who did the waiting at the foot of the climb when he
crashed? I guess Mayo wouldn't have waited in a similar situation; he would have taken advantage
and attacked. Very lowly.
There are too many a difference with the situation in Gap, making a comparison is pointless. Apples
and pears.
On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 01:41:39 GMT, "Ed-D" <rado4b0202@sneakemail.com> wrote:
>I honestly didn't. But I do now. He's a worthy champion. I'll never root against him again
>(unless of course he's up against Lance or another American). Instead Mayo and Zubeldia have the
>wrath of my anger
Sure he is.
His decission to wait for Lance was ok. But nevertheless, I'm afraid he misses a bit of fighting
spririt. That could cost him the victory, when it becomes close on saterday.
For example, why couldn't Ullrich sprint for those seconds at the stage finish? He was mad, he
waited the whole climb for those Spanish mosquitos to help him. Well, in that last sprint, why not
using that anger, pump up your adreline for the last few seconds and goddam, win that sprint!
Armstrong could do that. he won't let this happen. The same for Lemond.
Groet, Arne Vogel
> >
> >OK, he's spoken. Now, has anyone gotten a quote from Mayo?
>
> Mayo is either hiding or feeling too guilty to talk.
Mayo and Zubeldia appeared together, happy and very talkative at Basque regional TV on monday night,
the day of Luz Ardiden.
Mayo was after the stage, and he was sorry for not achieving that. As for Zubeldia, his goal was
Vinokourov, obviously. Mayo and Zubeldia really seemed well tuned among them, more than they
apparently were on the race. They promised action for today, wednesday's stage finishing at Bayonne.
Luistxo from the Basque Country
Christophe Kotowski wrote ...
>
> There are too many a difference with the situation in Gap,
1. In Gap it was a small group, in Luz Ardiden four riders. So, what's the mimimum group size for
sprinting to be acceptable?
2. In Gap I think it was Moreau who took some pulls as well, not only Armstrong. Luz Ardiden, just
Ullrich. So, does the unwritten rule specify the number of pulling riders? Is it one, two, five?
3. In Gap there were 10 stages left, in Luz Ardiden, 5. Is this really important?
4. In Gap Bettini gained nothing from being second. Those 4" for Mayo may still help him reach 3rd,
or 4th, or keep 5th place, or at least the team manager thinks so.
5. In Luz Ardiden, Ullrich had waited for Mayo. Does it mean that it would be acceptable for
Zubeldia to sprint? Does it mean that it would have been right without the crash?
Yeah, it's different. But reactions have gone too far. Fact is that, despite trying, Ullrich
wasn't able to arrive second to the finish line. He should just accept he lost and let rbr to the
talking. I mean, he lost much more time because of his own mistakes, but says nothing about that
in his website.
Jenko
--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG (http://www.mailgate.org/)
In article <i2lshvon2s47n17hecpigeanottgn0nlqv@4ax.com>, Bird
<a.bird@xs4all.nl> wrote:
> On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 01:41:39 GMT, "Ed-D" <rado4b0202@sneakemail.com> wrote:
>
> >I honestly didn't. But I do now. He's a worthy champion. I'll never root against him again
> >(unless of course he's up against Lance or another American). Instead Mayo and Zubeldia have the
> >wrath of my anger
>
> Sure he is.
>
> His decission to wait for Lance was ok. But nevertheless, I'm afraid he misses a bit of fighting
> spririt.
That can only be guessed at by an observer. He appears to be riding as hards as he possibly can.
> For example, why couldn't Ullrich sprint for those seconds at the stage finish?
He did sprint. The two guys who sat on his wheel came around him in the tight corners approaching
the finish but Ullrich still managed to get around one of them before the line.
> He was mad, he waited the whole climb for those Spanish mosquitos to help him. Well, in that last
> sprint, why not using that anger, pump up your adreline for the last few seconds and goddam, win
> that sprint!
It's apparent that you have not been a bike racer or have not been in that position.
> Armstrong could do that. he won't let this happen. The same for Lemond.
Armstrong did not win the sprint in his little group the other day.
-WG
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