Marcel Wust & Ullrich

limerickman

I have just read a very interesting interview with Marcel Wust about Mobiles, Jan Ullrich.
I only have a hardcopy of the interview : I have searched the net
for a copy of the interview but to no avail.

Essentially Wust was with Jan when he (JU) started at Telekom and he says that Ullrich was an enigma when he entered the sport and is still a puzzle now.

The interview starts with MW recalling how he met JU initially.
JU had come from a gliterring amateur career (world amateur road race champion in 1993) and that his record was well known throughout the professional ranks when he turned pro.
MW says that JU's second season (1996-2nd TDF) clearly showed
that JU had the capability to win at the very highest level.
According to Wust, this was probably the worst thing that could have happened to JU.
He said JU actually started to believe in his own publicity.
He says that JU's attitude was that I only have to turn up to win.

MW said that in 1997, JU got a very rude awakening from his Telekom team mates.
According to Wust, Udo Bolts had to practically kick JU in to training.
Telekom management allowed Bolts to take him (JU) under his wing.
MW said that Bolts practically single handedly trained JU and that Bolts is largely reposnsible for JU doing so well in winning his first
TDF at his second attempt in 1997.

Wust clearly recalls that JU let the 1997 go to his head.
In 1998, MW says that he couldn't believe the size of JU when he
turned up to race in the early season.
He said that JU was huge and it was obvious that he had gone out to much in the off-season.
He said he and JU were at the back of the peloton in March 1998
and he said JU hadn't a care in the world.
MW turned to him to say - "you should be up there at the front"
and JU replied "I could easily beat those guys if I was 20lbs lighter
- it's the early season, so I'm not really bothered !".
MW said that this is JU's attitude - he is too easy going.
Nothing gets to him - bad press coverage about his weight is water off a ducks back to JU.
MW says that Ullrich believes that his ability as a cyclist will always see him through and that this "confidence" is at the heart
of the JU enigma.
Why train hard when I know I can get results ?
MW says that this attitude has cost JU several T'sDF.
MW said that Merckx had told him (MW) that if Ullrich had Indurains head, he (JU) would have at least 6 T'sDF by now.

MW contends that even JU's physical capabilities have never been
fully explored.
He said he can recall a physiological test when JU was over weight and even when carrying 15lbs too much - he was still producing 450watts of power.
MW contends that JU's coach Peter Becker has said that JU has never used his physical engine at 100%.
According to Becker, Ullrich may have approached full potential in the 2003 TDF but Becker believes that JU is capable of more.
MW quotes Becker "JU's engine is the most efficient I have ever seen in any sports person - his engine is bigger that Indurain,
Hinault, Merckx or Armstrong"

MW believes that JU will continue to cycle - even if he doesn't win the 2004 TDF.
According to MW, JU enjoys being popular (he's the most popular sportsman in Germany - ahead of Schumacher) and he enjoys cycling.
Family life has made JU aware that he now needs to provide for his family and this will keep him in the sport.

gntlmn

That's an interesting spin on Jan Ullrich. On the one hand, MW claims that the positive publicity went to Jan's head and ruined him. On the other hand, MW says that the negative publicity did not phase him, "that it was water off a duck's back" such that he could not motivate himself to train harder. Perhaps he is not as externally motivated as MW suggests. Perhaps he is internally motivated. This would explain the difference.

As for having the biggest motor in the history of the sport, consider the source: his coach. Indurain, according to Spanish physiology experts, averaged 510 watts during his record breaking hour performance in the 1990's. I don't know how much more wattage an overweight cyclist generates when he gets in shape, but it seems that Indurain would be in the ballpark.

It's hard to say how true these claims are. Why, for example, doesn't Jan have the world hour record if he has the biggest motor?

limerickman

In the preamble to the interview - the correspondent states that
the piece is about the enigma of JU.
MW appears to be of the opinion that JU has been indulged :
he seems to enjoy more flexibility than any other rider.

I am reading, as I type here, a comment from Merckx in 1998 in Cycle Sport - that Ullrich is a disgrace appearing with excess weight at a race in Spain (March 1998).

The gist of MW's article - in my opinion - is that JU knows that he can shed the weight and train when he puts his mind to it.
But - for whatever reason - the fact that he can do this, allows him (JU) not to train as hard as he should.

He is an enigma.
I saw him here in 1998 and I spoke with Indurain about Jan Ullrich at the TDF presentation in Dublin.

Indurain's opinion of JU was clear - and I quote - "I realised that it was time to retire in 1996.
I could see that I (MI) was not at the same level as before.
I also saw JU in my rear view mirror" - meaning he saw JU as the next great champion.
I said to Indurain that I thought that he (MI) had another TDF win
in him and he replied "No, to win a TDF, you have to be at 100% -
my opponents are all great champions - Jalabert, Zulle, Riis,
Pantani - all these guys are terrific cyclists.
I knew when my performance slipped from 100% that I wouldn't be able to win.
And with Ullrich coming on so strong, I sensed that my era was over and the newer guys were on the horizon".

gntlmn

Remember what I said a while ago about how Motorola's coaching staff had identified a trend: when a rider wins big in the Tour de France at a young age, like earlier than say 26 years old, the odds are against him to continue to be a champion. Their strategy was not to ruin their emerging talent. Lance is a product of that strategy.

It seemed that Indurain was right about Ullrich early on, but that perhaps the early win did something to his head which ruined his future. Many would point to all the second place wins and say, "But he was very successful." Well, that's true, but not when you consider how good he might have been.

I'm not so sure that there is not more than a psychological effect to this early win phenomenon. Perhaps it alters a rider's body chemistry at an early age just enough to make it tougher to be motivated in the future. I don't think these types of changes would be very easy to see with blood samples or other tests, but they might be there nonetheless. An older rider, say past 25 years, is much more suited to the rigors of the Tour.

We'll see how Jan progresses as the years go by. Maybe he will shake the slump at last.

NeilMac

Thanks for the article transcription Limerickman it makes for some very interesting reading.

I think the article sums up Jan Ullrich very well and how he can be so frustrating to his DSs and his fans. He is extremely strong physically but mentally he lacks the willpower and determination to really use his natural ability to its maximum. In some ways I think that is why he has endeared himself to so many people – he loves a glass of wine and a choccy but can still ride his bike bloody fast. If he could just sort out his early season problems he could add so many more races to his palmares. The word enigma could have been invented to describe him!

So here we are less than a week before what will hopefully be a great Tour. I must admit I was getting concerned back in April and May when he went off on his training block. There was no news about his condition or form and I honestly began to fear for his participation in the Tour. However as usual, he comes back looking lean and mean. I watched him in the Deutschland Tour and there were glimpses he was on his way back. Then came the TdS and he really surprised me with the opening stage win and with his determination to hold on to the YJ. However I think he still lacked a little zip in the climbs but his TT win was classic Ullrich. Just when you think he might not do it he pulls it out the bag and takes the victory. A great boost for him and T-Mobile and us fans. I watched him work for Kloden in the German National Champs yesterday and he rode strongly with a bit more tactical nous about him than before. He looked strong and with still some more power “under the bonnet” for the Tour.

If nothing else at least now Jan is talking a good race, here are some quotes off www.cyclingnews.com today:

Ullrich says he won't be fooled.

"I'm convinced that Lance bluffed on the Mont Ventoux," Ullrich said at a press conference announcing the T-Mobile Tour roster. "Believe me, he's a lot better prepared than he lets on. And [Johan] Bruyneel's comments about his form not being as good don't convince me either. That's Lance's style, to try to fool his rivals."

"I'm convinced I can beat Lance, man against man," he said confidently. "I know his weaknesses and I'll do everything I can to exploit them in this Tour."

"Losing Vinokourov is a big blow for the team since, with him, we could have adopted a much more aggressive tactic," Ullrich explained. "But that doesn't mean I'll now adopt a more defensive plan. On the contrary, I'll try to take time from Lance every time I have the chance."

I think the second paragraph sounds interesting. For the first time Ullrich is saying he is convinced he can beat LA. In previous years it has always been “I will try and beat him”. I think last year though showed him that LA is not unbeatable and that he saw signs in Armstrong that he was far less dominant than in their previous meetings. I believe Ullrich can win this Tour too and I will watch with interest, enthusiasm and with lots of tension and shouting at the tv no doubt, to see if he can.

Kampf Jan!!

__________________
"Never do you see a man sit so firmly in the saddle on a mountain pass".

limerickman

Thanks Neil - and can I say that you spotted the reason why I posted the message - it is about the JU Enigma as MW says.
Other s in replying seem to have missed the essential point of the article.

Yes, Jan appears to have gotten himself in to great shape and I too was a bit worried when he dropped out of Liege-B-Liege
earlier (or was it Fleche - I can't recall).
MW's central point is that if it comes too easily to some people they almost take it for granted that they can come back at a later
time.

March 2004 Cycle Sport interview with JU page 40 "I now realise
that there is not unlimited time for me anymore.
I realise this after all those team changes and problems with my knee. I realised that I am not going to be young forever.
I now realise that I have perhaps only a couple of years left to win the TDF".
Also " In 2003 TDF, I was not as strong as I was in 1998.
I finished second behind Pantani by a small margin, not much more than in 2003 behind LA".
"Pantani was a guy who could blast away - and a more difficult
opponent than LA in any of the T'sDF where I have challenged him
(LA)".

Hope springs eternal with JU - as a fan of his, I have to say I would love to see him win it but I think the fact that he has lost to LA in prior years is always at the back of his mind and this is
hard to overcome, no matter how well he is going.
I wouldn't for a moment be surprised if he did beat him but logic tells me that this probably won't happen.

I hope he goes well though - as I say hope springs eternal !

gntlmn

Here's words from experience. It will be a good Tour this year. I will be spending a lot of time in front of the tube in July.