Where's Jan ?

[whiteboytrash]

Where's Jan ? Its all a bit quite..... think he needs to race soon... but where ?

The question of where Jan Ullrich is and what he is doing has finally been answered: he is training in Tuscany. "After my successful training camp in South Africa in February, I am now working on my form in a very concentrated and intense way," Ullrich said on the team's website. He is accompanied by directeur sportif Rudy Pevenage and his physiotherapist, Birgit Krohme.
"The snow chaos is Southern Europe made our arrival a bit more difficult," Pevenage said, who is satisfied with the local conditions after the first training ride. "It is dry here and with temperatures around 15°, we can carry out our planned program."

Team manager Olaf Ludwig is scheduled to visit Ullrich in the next few days. Ludwig, Ullrich and Pevenage will together plan the rider's first race appearance. "It depends on the progress of his form," said Ludwig. It was important now, said the team manager, "that he gets is further training kilometres and thus establishes the basis for a good start in the season."

 

[tcklyde]

Where's Jan ? Its all a bit quite..... think he needs to race soon... but where ?

The question of where Jan Ullrich is and what he is doing has finally been answered: he is training in Tuscany. "After my successful training camp in South Africa in February, I am now working on my form in a very concentrated and intense way," Ullrich said on the team's website. He is accompanied by directeur sportif Rudy Pevenage and his physiotherapist, Birgit Krohme.
"The snow chaos is Southern Europe made our arrival a bit more difficult," Pevenage said, who is satisfied with the local conditions after the first training ride. "It is dry here and with temperatures around 15°, we can carry out our planned program."

Team manager Olaf Ludwig is scheduled to visit Ullrich in the next few days. Ludwig, Ullrich and Pevenage will together plan the rider's first race appearance. "It depends on the progress of his form," said Ludwig. It was important now, said the team manager, "that he gets is further training kilometres and thus establishes the basis for a good start in the season."

Thanks for the update, WBT.

I finally picked up an issue of CycleSport and read the feature on Jan. Very good reading! And Jan looked very good in the pictures, although it was unclear when exactly they were taken.

I remember reading a year or two back - in Procycling I think - that Jan does almost no training at all on his TT bike. Has anyone else heard about this? Obviously, this year's Tour presents him with two important opportunities to put time into his rivals on the TTs...

 

[bobke]

Thanks for the update, WBT.

I finally picked up an issue of CycleSport and read the feature on Jan. Very good reading! And Jan looked very good in the pictures, although it was unclear when exactly they were taken.

I remember reading a year or two back - in Procycling I think - that Jan does almost no training at all on his TT bike. Has anyone else heard about this? Obviously, this year's Tour presents him with two important opportunities to put time into his rivals on the TTs...

I always get MORE worried when those a##clowns come out and say Jan is fine.
It is March people. This is not the time to do base kilometers in training.

Recall that when Jan was competetive in 2003 he was finishing in the front group at LBL, that would be a mere what five weeks from now right? He was kicking it all along that year.
What is this guys problem? They cant just wait for the Giro and expect things to pull together.

 

[cyclingheroes]

I always get MORE worried when those a##clowns come out and say Jan is fine.
It is March people. This is not the time to do base kilometers in training.

Recall that when Jan was competetive in 2003 he was finishing in the front group at LBL, that would be a mere what five weeks from now right? He was kicking it all along that year.
What is this guys problem? They cant just wait for the Giro and expect things to pull together.

I am one of those clowns who is saying that Jan is doing fine. Don't mess with our anual Jan soap! It has good tradition and i want to keep it that way! JAN IS DOING FINE!

 

[Powerful Pete]

It is interesting to see how raw talent can only get you so far. Jan has the talent, and has consistently squandered a decent portion of it away, starting each year out with lots of extra weight, not racing, training (or so he says) and then compounding all of this with the tactical racing sense of a mentally impaired shrew.

The fact that he has not yet figured out, towards what must now be the closing years of his career, how to go through winter and arrive prepared for the year baffles me.

 

[limerickman]

It is interesting to see how raw talent can only get you so far. Jan has the talent, and has consistently squandered a decent portion of it away, starting each year out with lots of extra weight, not racing, training (or so he says) and then compounding all of this with the tactical racing sense of a mentally impaired shrew.

The fact that he has not yet figured out, towards what must now be the closing years of his career, how to go through winter and arrive prepared for the year baffles me.

I wouldn't assume anything - just because he hasn't raced so far.

Going on prior seasons, you might well be correct of course.
But let's see how it pans out.

 

[whiteboytrash]

I wouldn't assume anything - just because he hasn't raced so far.

Going on prior seasons, you might well be correct of course.
But let's see how it pans out.

What well be interesting is the other riders are already gunning it in early March... ie Levi and Landis..... hope they can hold on to July..... I think Jan's approach is ok.... with him riding the Giro then he doesn't need to start racing so soon..... I don't think Basso has started yet... has he ?

 

[micron]

you know, Ullrich has palmares that many would kill for, an Olympic Gold and a Vuelta win that Armstrong can't match, and he manages to go away in the off season and have a great time.

Sure he could have achieved a helluva lot more had he been as driven as Armstrong (and Armstrong wouldn't have been able to live with the Ullrich of 97) but I like the fact that, in the off season, Ullrich has always chosen to have a life - to achieve what he has whilst enjoying himself with pies and lager through the winter is great.

But then I'm a European and we don't have quite the same 'success at all costs' ethos as Americans

 

[cyclingheroes]

What well be interesting is the other riders are already gunning it in early March... ie Levi and Landis..... hope they can hold on to July..... I think Jan's approach is ok.... with him riding the Giro then he doesn't need to start racing so soon..... I don't think Basso has started yet... has he ?

Basso started at March 4 (Milano-Torino) and is riding the Tirreno-Adriatico at the moment. Anyway: Jan loves life and said several times in interviews that life is more than cycling and he loves to do other things in the winter and yes he loves a good glass of wine and a beer

 

[whiteboytrash]

Basso started at March 4 (Milano-Torino) and is riding the Tirreno-Adriatico at the moment. Anyway: Jan loves life and said several times in interviews that life is more than cycling and he loves to do other things in the winter and yes he loves a good glass of wine and a beer

Jan also speaks to his children and can form realtionships with women (other than his mother) that last.....

...when Jan retires he will open a kebab shop in Munich (because there aren't many of those in Munich !) and call it "Der Kaiser's Kebabs"......... he will open the shop on a popular cycling route so wannabe Jan's will stop, have a coffee and launch into some greasy kebabs and other artery thickening food before doing 23km of training.

 

[bobke]

I wouldn't assume anything - just because he hasn't raced so far.

Going on prior seasons, you might well be correct of course.
But let's see how it pans out.

C'mon Lim, its never too early too make an unfounded prediction!!!

 

[limerickman]

you know, Ullrich has palmares that many would kill for, an Olympic Gold and a Vuelta win that Armstrong can't match, and he manages to go away in the off season and have a great time.

Sure he could have achieved a helluva lot more had he been as driven as Armstrong (and Armstrong wouldn't have been able to live with the Ullrich of 97) but I like the fact that, in the off season, Ullrich has always chosen to have a life - to achieve what he has whilst enjoying himself with pies and lager through the winter is great.

But then I'm a European and we don't have quite the same 'success at all costs' ethos as Americans

I take your point - Ullrich lives life.

It's interesting to note that Jan Ullrich speaking to Cycle Sport in Feb 2005
says "I know that there is life for me after racing. I train and work hard but I am not prepared to make the sacrifices that some other do make. I want my health after I retire".

 

[Powerful Pete]

C'mon Lim, its never too early too make an unfounded prediction!!!

I stand by my early season unfounded prediction. I just wonder what Kaiser Jan could do if he... enjoyed life a bit less in the off season. He has incredible talent, it is obvious that it takes him a good amount of racing kms to get in tip-top shape, why push it so that you risk being humiliated in the Giro when your objective is to take the Tour title back?

 

[whiteboytrash]

...I want my health after I retire".

You can read a lot into that statement !

 

[jhuskey]

I have said this before, but his new love is a force in his life. She drags his butt out to train when he would not otherwise be training.
She is a fair cyclist herself and I believe that she may make the difference this year.
Never underestimate the power of a womans influence over a man.
I know that she wants him to go out on top.
Motivating is a hugh force in an athlete.
As far a retiring I believe he may continue for a couple more years with some team, undertermined as yet.
Not as the GC contender but as a key rider and advisor. This would take a lot of pressure off of him.

 

[cyclingheroes]

You can read a lot into that statement !

Yes and he ment exactly that..

 

[whiteboytrash]

I hope you're right, I hope you're right...... behind every great man there is a great women...... sounds like this chic is on Jan's case..... does he get 'treats' if he trains real hard ?

I have said this before, but his new love is a force in his life. She drags his butt out to train when he would not otherwise be training.
She is a fair cyclist herself and I believe that she may make the difference this year.
Never underestimate the power of a womans influence over a man.
I know that she wants him to go out on top.
Motivating is a hugh force in an athlete.
As far a retiring I believe he may continue for a couple more years with some team, undertermined as yet.
Not as the GC contender but as a key rider and advisor. This would take a lot of pressure off of him.

 

[whiteboytrash]

Yes and he ment exactly that..

I know he did.....

 

[jhuskey]

I hope you're right, I hope you're right...... behind every great man there is a great women...... sounds like this chic is on Jan's case..... does he get 'treats' if he trains real hard ?

I couldn't say for sure ,but he seems to be fond of her for some reason.

 

[alibat]

Does anyone have any idea when his season will start? I seem to remember reading some time ago (can't exactly remember where, either the TM site or cycle sport) that it would be this month. I've always believed than Jan needs to race more into form for the tour rather than just train. I hope he isn't making the same old mistakes.