Jan: No Doyenne

TM

"Jeff Jones" <jeff@cyclingnews-punt-com> wrote in message
news:408aa489$0$10896$a0ced6e1@news.skynet.be...
>
So
> why is it so hard to keep your weight down?

Agreed. Fat is fat. I think that one could legitimately wonder about
Ullrich's preparation this year because it is strikingly different from last
year. I was concerned about how it can get twisted into him being a flawed
person. In that regard, he functions like an ink blot test on a bike!

I think, besides an engine, a rider needs to a have smart plan, believe in
the plan, and have the work ethic to gut it out. The real question in all
of this, for me, is has any of that changed for Ullrich this year or has he
just adjusted his plan for a later peak?

Randy Walton

If you've ever been up Brasstown 10 seconds ain't much. It's too steep for
that too qualify as much distance. Having said that, it's also important to
note that Horner was basically riding for himself all day. The guy is a
machine but Lance rode protected all day. Add to that the fact that
"everyone" but Grajales, Armstrong, and Voigt were simply dying on the
mountain I think Horner did great. To see how spent those guys were when
the got to the bottom of Brasstown it's not surprising that a lot blew up.
When they made the turn off the main road onto the spur the grade's about
15%. Hincapie had been riding protection all day for Lance and he simply
fell off to the side in front of us and looked totally spent. He limped up
after that. Many of the Euro's were creeping past after that as well.

A friend of mine who raced Cat1 and had raced on Brasstown was at the top
and commented that it was a sufferfest like he had never seen. Even
Grajales, who rode that climb twice a week all season to train for it looked
like he had nothing left.

"Tom Kunich" <cyclintom@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:IQYic.9367$eZ5.52@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> "Richard Adams" <ackthpt@concentric.net> wrote in message
> news:c6ha0h$qdp@dispatch.concentric.net...
> > Tom Kunich wrote:
> > >
> > > Now, there's a certain genius to that since he has CSC plastered all
> over
> > > the headlines, but that isn't winning the Tour.
> >
> > Which could lead back to the fertile "what-if" ground of Tyler Hamilton,
> > but that's been beaten to death. I think a healthy Tyler would have had
> > Jan looking over his shoulder.
>
> I think that Jan and Lance are on the same level and Beloki, Hamilton and
> maybe Mayo and Zubeldia. And just within range of these four guys are
Basso,
> Moreau and Vinokourov. If Jan and Lance didn't show up we would have a
> wing-ding of a race like Fignon and LeMond in '89 with the jersey bouncing
> back and forth all race.
>
> I also believe that Landis only needs two more years of good training to
be
> at Tour level.
>
> I'd like to know what happened to Horner on Bald Mountain. He lost 10
> seconds to Lance who isn't in anything like his Tour shape. After seeing
the
> speed and power of Horner I can't figure that one out.
>
>

h squared

Nev Shea wrote:
>
>
> One time that I recall Ullrich giving himself an excuse for losing in
> advance was when he went to the '98 Vuelta saying he was using it to
> train for World's . . . but he won that Vuelta anyway.

i should clarify that the type of excuse i was talking about is the one
that lives in your own head that you're not even aware of existing, not
the kind you say out loud to others.

and again, like i wrote the first time, thinking about jan just makes me
think of that stuff, i'm not saying it applies to him.

bye,
hh

Benjamin Weiner

Jeff Jones <jeff@cyclingnews-punt-com> wrote:

> I thought "mental toughness" was something that's part of your make up from
> a young age, or maybe something you get in your teens. I dunno, to be
> honest. I do know that although I'm paid (and ride) a hell of a lot less
> than Jan and I'm not a pro cyclist, I still have no problems maintaining my
> weight at a reasonable level for cycling. Of course I'm not the only one.

> I guess the funny thing is that you have to be mentally tough to ride a
> three week grand tour, not to mention finish first or second in it. You also
> have to have the discipline to train yourself to be ready at that level. So
> why is it so hard to keep your weight down?

> OK, I'd better not write him off yet as he has a good track record in the
> Tour. But Ullrich was in better shape and seemed to be better mentally with
> the Coast/Bianchi chaos last year than he is with the old crowd in Telekom
> this year.

Well, food is one of the things that people respond to very
differently. That's why some people never put on weight, without
making any effort, and others have eating disorders.

What I never can tell about the yearly "Jan is fat" circus is how
much of it is cause or symptom. Assuming he's carrying a few extra
pounds (I can't tell by looking at pictures), is he off the pace just
because of that, or is it a symptom of not enough training to burn it
off? That is, is it power or weight? Considering that he is
consistently about the second best climber in the Tour, it seems hard
to believe that say 5 extra pounds alone is enough to put him off the
back behind relative domestiques in the Fleche.

Of course, getting out there in January and February to train is
part of mental toughness, as you alluded. I don't know how to
define mental toughness, either, beyond self-confidence and
stubbornness. It's possible to think of examples to the point
of pigheadedness (Hinault, Armstrong, etc) - these guys must have
had it from an early age. Most of us probably know amateur racers
who are stubborn, finish-at-all-costs types even if they are back
markers, and then guys who are strong but will drop out of a race
if they flat or get dropped or have a mechanical. I dunno if you
can make one out of the other, but there must be some component
of motivation that can be reinforced - look at what riders say
about Riis, or even what Armstrong says about Bruyneel convincing
him that he could be a Tour contender.

Ben
Not clear I'm qualified to talk as I DNFed a Fred ride Saturday.