Ullrich to ride the Giro...?



whiteboytrash

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Jan Ullrich's sporting advisor and close friend, Belgian Rudy Pevenage, is in favour of preparing the German's 2006 Tour de France victory bid with the participation of the Giro d'Italia next year. Pevenage, who will again be part of the T-Mobile team next year after working solely for Ullrich since 2003, wants the 1997 Tour de France winner to decide soon whether he'll ride the Giro or the Tour de Suisse to prepare for next year's 'Grande Boucle'.

"Riding the Giro would be one of the two ways to warm up for the Tour, besides the Tour de Suisse," Pevenage said. "I'll advise him to do it," he added, after seeing the full details of the 2006 Giro d'Italia route on Saturday.
 
I've always felt that the Giro was the correct way for Ullrich to cycle as part of any TDF season.
This business of training - and not competing - as preparation for the TDF in Ullrich's case was always a problem.

Instead of racing, he trained with Steinhauser in Switzerland.
Nothing replicates the sensation of racing and by doing the Giro Ullrich will be
racing/training at a higher level that he would otherwise.
 
Yes I agree, it would be nice to see him ride the giro as part of his training. He did this in 2001 and was in much better form come the tour. My only concern would be that he would not rest properly after the giro and could subsequently be overcome by illness and the fatigue that accompanies it, such as in 2004. Although i'd like for him to complete it, maybe take a stage, if he feels like it is too much too soon, he should pull out. I don't see him riding the giro however, sometimes it's best to stick with the familiar.
 
The biggest problem is that you lose 21 days reconnaissance of Tour stages.... with the snows hitting the peaks all the way up to May it can be hard to get up to those mountains pre-June…….. this is a key factor…….



Ullefan said:
Yes I agree, it would be nice to see him ride the giro as part of his training. He did this in 2001 and was in much better form come the tour. My only concern would be that he would not rest properly after the giro and could subsequently be overcome by illness and the fatigue that accompanies it, such as in 2004. Although i'd like for him to complete it, maybe take a stage, if he feels like it is too much too soon, he should pull out. I don't see him riding the giro however, sometimes it's best to stick with the familiar.
 
I think it's to hard route for the Tour preparation. Riders will have to give everything they have just to complete the race and it's big question can they recover properly for the Tour. But you can always leave the race if something goes wrong. Besides, I don't think great riders should use one Grand Tour to prepare for another, they should ride it to win.

 
Andrija said:
I think it's to hard route for the Tour preparation. Riders will have to give everything they have just to complete the race and it's big question can they recover properly for the Tour. But you can always leave the race if something goes wrong. Besides, I don't think great riders should use one Grand Tour to prepare for another, they should ride it to win.

Would be great to see him ride it and win it. He gives the impression sometimes of someone who's forgotten how to win a really big race. He's built his season around the Tour for years now and each time he's come up short. Would do him a world of good psychologically to win such a big race and maybe he'd arrive in the Tour looking more like the agressive young Ullrich of 1997. Having said that it's hard to argue with the guys who are saying it's too long and tough a race to be ideal physical preparation for the Tour.
 
limerickman said:
I've always felt that the Giro was the correct way for Ullrich to cycle as part of any TDF season.
This business of training - and not competing - as preparation for the TDF in Ullrich's case was always a problem.

Instead of racing, he trained with Steinhauser in Switzerland.
Nothing replicates the sensation of racing and by doing the Giro Ullrich will be
racing/training at a higher level that he would otherwise.


I would tend to disagree with you Lim, on the on the that point that Jan does not compete that much.
He rides several races that may not get a lot of attention Luxembourg,Majorca,Suisse,Germany but he races more events than some other high profile cyclist.
 
jhuskey said:
I would tend to disagree with you Lim, on the on the that point that Jan does not compete that much.
He rides several races that may not get a lot of attention Lumembourg,Majorca,Suisse,Germany but he races more events than some other high profile cyclist.

I know JU does ride big races - especially back in Germany (Tour of Germany etc) but I always had the impression that JU has an engine which needs to be worked hard to get himself in to optimum condition.

I know it is some years back but if you looked at Ullrichs program when he was riding for Riis at Telekom, he raced and raced during 1996/1997 and he
was strong enough to finish 2nd (!!!!!!!!!!) in his first TDF.
(team orders deemed that the leader of the team was to be the winner but Ullrich could have challenged Riis and probably beat him in 1996).

I'd like to see JU give the Giro a go - if he won the Giro, that would be the final grand tour in the bag (1997 - TDF, 1999-Vuelta and 2006-Giro).
 
limerickman said:
I know JU does ride big races - especially back in Germany (Tour of Germany etc) but I always had the impression that JU has an engine which needs to be worked hard to get himself in to optimum condition.

I know it is some years back but if you looked at Ullrichs program when he was riding for Riis at Telekom, he raced and raced during 1996/1997 and he
was strong enough to finish 2nd (!!!!!!!!!!) in his first TDF.
(team orders deemed that the leader of the team was to be the winner but Ullrich could have challenged Riis and probably beat him in 1996).

I'd like to see JU give the Giro a go - if he won the Giro, that would be the final grand tour in the bag (1997 - TDF, 1999-Vuelta and 2006-Giro).
Pictures of Ullrich back then show a very thin, much thinner boy than we have ever seen since. Ullrich SAYS he got back to the 97 weight but I dont buy it.
If he rides the Giro, he will do much better in the Tour. But this years route IS very difficult. It would be fun to see him win the ITT or come close just as training. He would get dropped for many dozens of minutes for the climbs they have scheduled, but who cares.
 
I could not say if he truly tries or trains hard enough. I would say that only he could answer that question.
I know that he and others vacation are over now and he and other serious pro's will he headed back for the winter training session from now until Christmas.
He trains hard but...hard enough? I don't know, but obviously not hard enough to win the TDF at least since 1997.
Maybe Lance can spare enough time to go down the S Africa and give him some tips. :D
 
bobke said:
Pictures of Ullrich back then show a very thin, much thinner boy than we have ever seen since. Ullrich SAYS he got back to the 97 weight but I dont buy it.
If he rides the Giro, he will do much better in the Tour. But this years route IS very difficult. It would be fun to see him win the ITT or come close just as training. He would get dropped for many dozens of minutes for the climbs they have scheduled, but who cares.

yes, he was only a youngster in 1996/1997 and he was thin.
All the greats (Indurain/Merckx/Hinault) have said that gaining weight as you get older is the main problem facing all champions.

Indurain/Merckx/Hinault use the wrong definition - when they refer to weight what they really are referring to is Mass. Not weight.
But we get their point.

Take a look at Ullrichs brother (Stefan) and you see that weight and the propensity to gain weight is most probably hereditary in his case.

it's not helped by the fact that Ullrich went mad after his win in 1997, attending dinners and carousing.
Which brings me back to my point - he needs to work hard to maintain his fitness and to control his weight (in civilian life, he's still thin but in terms of pro cycling, he's big).
 
limerickman said:
I've always felt that the Giro was the correct way for Ullrich to cycle as part of any TDF season.
This business of training - and not competing - as preparation for the TDF in Ullrich's case was always a problem.

Instead of racing, he trained with Steinhauser in Switzerland.
Nothing replicates the sensation of racing and by doing the Giro Ullrich will be
racing/training at a higher level that he would otherwise.

I agree completely.

I also think it is important the Ulle get in the mindset of racing: to get the competitive juices flowing. It will be a really tough Giro, with lots of tough climbs, and I think it will be just what he needs to fire up both his engine and his desire to win.
 
tcklyde said:
I agree completely.

I also think it is important the Ulle get in the mindset of racing: to get the competitive juices flowing. It will be a really tough Giro, with lots of tough climbs, and I think it will be just what he needs to fire up both his engine and his desire to win.
But as you say , this Giro is going to be so tough if he is using it as a training ride he could get utterly embarrassed.
Personally i think it will do him more harm than good - i doubt he will do it.

If he comes into Spring in his best shape for ages , then the Giro wont be needed and he can use that time fine-tuning and reccy'ing the TdF.
If he comes into Spring his usual tubby self , then the Giro is going to stamp all over him and spit him out the back - his confidence will be very very low if that happens with just 2 months till Tour time.
 
limerickman said:
yes, he was only a youngster in 1996/1997 and he was thin.
All the greats (Indurain/Merckx/Hinault) have said that gaining weight as you get older is the main problem facing all champions.

Indurain/Merckx/Hinault use the wrong definition - when they refer to weight what they really are referring to is Mass. Not weight.
But we get their point.

Take a look at Ullrichs brother (Stefan) and you see that weight and the propensity to gain weight is most probably hereditary in his case.

it's not helped by the fact that Ullrich went mad after his win in 1997, attending dinners and carousing.
Which brings me back to my point - he needs to work hard to maintain his fitness and to control his weight (in civilian life, he's still thin but in terms of pro cycling, he's big).
I agree, i think Jan should ride the Giro! Pevenage said that Jan would take decision this week, he didn`t and is still thinking about it.... And yes it would be a big thing if he would win (after TdF and Vuelta)!
 
whiteboytrash said:
Jan Ullrich's sporting advisor and close friend, Belgian Rudy Pevenage, is in favour of preparing the German's 2006 Tour de France victory bid with the participation of the Giro d'Italia next year. Pevenage, who will again be part of the T-Mobile team next year after working solely for Ullrich since 2003, wants the 1997 Tour de France winner to decide soon whether he'll ride the Giro or the Tour de Suisse to prepare for next year's 'Grande Boucle'.

"Riding the Giro would be one of the two ways to warm up for the Tour, besides the Tour de Suisse," Pevenage said. "I'll advise him to do it," he added, after seeing the full details of the 2006 Giro d'Italia route on Saturday.
In an interview with the Austrian newspaper "Kurier" (21.11.2005) Jan said that he defenitly will ride the Giro and the Tour.
 
cyclingheroes said:
In an interview with the Austrian newspaper "Kurier" (21.11.2005) Jan said that he defenitly will ride the Giro and the Tour.


Looks like Ullrich is doing it.

This is good for several reasons.
He is firing the first shot in the psychological warfare...announcing he is badass and will be there to win.

Also note all the press release photos from the goofy team building T Mobile is doing a la Riis.

So, it also makes him put the goal out public style so he HAS to get fit in order just to ride the Giro.
As Basso said after getting dropped on COurchevel, the Giro flat stages are 3 km and hour faster and the mountain climbs done at 1-2 km per hour faster...so it should be do-able for Jan. He and Floyd can chat as they get dropped by Simoni and DiLuca for many minutes on the horrrendously difficult climbs.

Even Bruyneel admitted it that this year's Giro "on paper" is certainly not a good route for Salvodelli.
 
Most media and commentators are suggesting the Giro 2006 is the hardest one on record.

bobke said:
Looks like Ullrich is doing it.

This is good for several reasons.
He is firing the first shot in the psychological warfare...announcing he is badass and will be there to win.

Also note all the press release photos from the goofy team building T Mobile is doing a la Riis.

So, it also makes him put the goal out public style so he HAS to get fit in order just to ride the Giro.
As Basso said after getting dropped on COurchevel, the Giro flat stages are 3 km and hour faster and the mountain climbs done at 1-2 km per hour faster...so it should be do-able for Jan. He and Floyd can chat as they get dropped by Simoni and DiLuca for many minutes on the horrrendously difficult climbs.

Even Bruyneel admitted it that this year's Giro "on paper" is certainly not a good route for Salvodelli.
 
limerickman said:
Most media and commentators are suggesting the Giro 2006 is the hardest one on record.
Maybe Mayo ride the Giro as well, no ? (Ullrich, Cuneago, Simoni, Landis - its going to be one hell of a line up !)
_____

There is also a strong possibility that Mayo will ride the Giro d’Italia as preparation for the Tour, but Mayo refused to be drawn on this in Derio. “Last year was a very bad one for me,” he admitted. “When you have a year like that you want things to be different the next season. So we are all starting from zero and hoping that things improve for us so that we can have a good year.” Hardly startling stuff, although he did reveal that he would probably ride “a little bit more” early in the season.
 
whiteboytrash said:
Maybe Mayo ride the Giro as well, no ? (Ullrich, Cuneago, Simoni, Landis - its going to be one hell of a line up !)
_____

There is also a strong possibility that Mayo will ride the Giro d’Italia as preparation for the Tour, but Mayo refused to be drawn on this in Derio. “Last year was a very bad one for me,” he admitted. “When you have a year like that you want things to be different the next season. So we are all starting from zero and hoping that things improve for us so that we can have a good year.” Hardly startling stuff, although he did reveal that he would probably ride “a little bit more” early in the season.

I hope Mayo will come back next year, it`s gonna be a great Giro and a great TdF...
 

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