Ullefan said:I just don't understand what has happened to Jan, is he sick? This isn't like him, he can't be too old. They plan their whole year around Jan and the tour and this is what comes of it. This isn't pathetic, it's a complete shambles. Whoever directs Jan needs to be replaced very quickly. This is worse than Tyler hamilton, at least he has reasons for his lack of performance. There is no reason for this, he won the tour de suisse, he was apparentely having the best June of all time, and when the tour comes, he dies out with a wimper. He's not even overweight, came into the tour very slim, but it looks like this is the 2000 tour. Words can't describe how I'm feeling for myself and for him, its a sad story, that he is such a talent but it is Basso who can keep pace with lance, but Jan can't! He can't even keep up with Kloden?!!! Jan do the right thing and leave T-mobile, go to Gerolsteiner, I'm sure they will do a better job. Arghhhhh...... 😠
If you were a boxer, and you constantly had to go up and down weight categories, eventually you will lose, like Roy Jones did against Tarver when Roy didn't respect the impact that a 25 lb weight loss will have on his strength and stamina.
I think Jan is ignoring the impact of off seasonal weight gain and subsequent loss year in and year out. He would probably be stronger if he kept his weight in a narrower range during the offseason. Sure, it's nice to have a break, but it's hard on your body to go that far. He seems to do it year after year. It gets harder to cope with this as you get older. I suspect that if Jan wants to continue to be a Tour contender, he will have to stay in better shape in the off season and not play such dramatic catch up in the spring and early summer.
