Rich22

How must it feel to finish 2nd to Lance so many times? Everything is always lance this lance that... and he is always overshadowed by lance. Im sure hes happy to have won the TdF once, however he consistently comes 2nd to lance. That must suck to always be 2nd best. Even if it is to LA

Grasschopper

Oh come on now...this year he is fourth best so far. Will probably make the podium though and he hey won the year Lance was recovering from cancer....

JungleCat

Dunno if it sucks. He makes $2mil per year, the TDF win, numerous podium appearances, a Tour de Suisse win and something Lance wanted but never won - a gold medal.

geneman

Jan doesn't strike me as the egomaniacal, type A guy who always has to win or otherwise drop into a deep depression. I think he takes his TdF placing with grace and is genuinely happy to finish on the podium as many times as he does. He seems like a well balanced guy to me. Then again, so does Lance ...

Mark

joeprim

He didn't look too unhappy this weekend. He did look bored before that though.

Joe

jbonus

I think the part that sucks about being Jan Ullrich is him getting yoyoed emotionally by his manager and team director. I mean, c'mon, give the guy a break.

Dolomiti

He always makes comments in being content to be 2nd to him, and stuff like that. 'I'm happy, I put up a good fight' blah blah blah

Mambwe

Ullrich is too happy to finish 2nd. If you read his daily journals, it is obvious that he does not have the eye of the tiger.

spingineer

Paul Sherwin keeps calling him "beast of a man" ... well maybe not this year, but he was saying that throughout the whole tour last year

plin

I have the same impression about Ulrich. Ulrich always seems to be quite upbeat despite the setbacks. He also regularly puts on some weight in the offseason which is quite normal for a well balanced person considering the highly trained state of pro riders. Lance on the other hand, is proud to tell people that he weights his food before every meal and gets his doses of adrenaline by going to weekend cyclocross races to beat up amateurs. Lance is certainly a hundred times more professional than Ulrich, but I don't think more balanced.

KiddSisko

I don't know if this is an indication that Jan is happy or depressed, but on stage 16 I actually saw him rise up on his pedals to accelerate. Over two years of watching him do his chug chug huge gear diesel act, I've never seen him leave his seat. Anyone else see that today?

Guest

Careful about bringing in details of today's stage outside the stage thread...

Koffee

wabbit

Jan is a great athlete, and I am sure he could have won the tour three times at least by now. He is as strong as an ox, but lance is just that much better. It has to be tough. But his team could also have changed their tactics a bit, seeing how lance's tactics barely change and he always wins. The only difference I se this year with Lance is that he gets into yellow, stays high enough and hangs on. He hasn't won a stage in the mountains. It's evidence that he knows he's not 25 and he isn't as explosive. But jan also had a couple of nasty crashes and he was very quiet about how much it bothered him. I think what he did was harder than what lance did. If anyone really deserves to win the tour, jan does.

CPcyclist

"Marsha, Marsha, Marsha"

enough said

TomM

Get a grip. He was describing how the guy was pedaling.

vilelamb

n/a

jrennie

technicaly the olympics are not a pro event, he could go for one now

WJ13US

I think next years tdf, if Jan is in it, will be a defining moment for Jan. I think if he does not win he will always be defined as the guy who just never had it in him to be a winner, even with all the wins, including a tdf, that he does have.

jbonus

Jan has just recently announced that he's going to race in the 2006 Tour. His manager Rudy Pevenage had his contract extended with T-Mobile and Jan's contract runs through next year. I think Jan will get a bump up in the GC from Armstrong's absence next year, but Basso should be at the top. Don't forget the return of Cunego.

cydewaze

I wouldn't mind being Jan at all. I'd be riding a hell of a lot faster than I am now.

rich007

It'll be an interesting Tour next year. Can't wait... If everything goes as expected, I think Basso can win... As much as I respect Jan, he will not win another TdF!

But I just cannot wait for the next generation to start mixing it up in TdF's GC: Cunego, Valverde (my personal favorite) and Popo. I bet that one of these guys will be on a podium the next year...

Monument Man

i can not believe how the american press labels Jan as a "loser". that guy is HARD CORE. just look at his legs. always at the top of the GC.

i bet it's freaking awesome being Jan. I don't know if that guy is married or not, but he must be like the biggest stud in Germany. i would give almost anything to live the life of Jan for a day. my wife says that he's a handsome guy too.

puddin' legs

If he were American, he'd be praised and considered the jab of a one-two N. American TDF K.O. Watch for an eye opening final TT and a strong move onto the podium.

wabbit

He is a very goodlooking guy, that's for sure. I think the hardest thing must be the criticism, the pressure, and people overlooking your accomplishments and focusing on your 'failures'. I remember Phil and Paul talking about Laurent Fignon and how in france, he was actually more popular for LOSING the tour by 8 seconds than for winning it twice! But the fans still love jan- i watched the TDS and the swiss are crazy about him.

boyRacer

I bet it sucks even more not being a pro cyclist.