Ulrich = Ken Griffey, Jr. or Randy Moss

[bulliedawg]

I study sports. It's part of my job. Ulrich is so damned talented, and so beautiful to watch on the bike, but he doesn't put in the work. It's like great talents in so many other sports.

Griffey, Jr. is still the most beautiful baseball player to watch. (Some might make a strong argument for Albert Pujos.) But Griffey has never put in the work. The same can be said for Randy Moss. Nobody more beautiful to watch on the gridiron. Nobody more mercurial. Doesn't put in the work.

Ulrich, Griffey, and Moss don't seem to LOVE what they do. You have to love what you do to want to put in the work.

In my lifetime, the most perfect blend of natural talent (beauty) and desire was Michael Jordan.

Character counts. Always has, always will. Armstrong's got it; Ulrich don't. What a shame.

[shaq-d]

how about vlad guerrero? awesome player, obvious love of the game.

anyway i agree, lance has got "it". demonstrated that when he beat basso today too... as if to put an end to the question marks about him letting basso win yesterday..

sd

[Bruce H.]

The list can go on:
In the past there was Arnold Palmer, Rod Laver,Terry Bradshaw(who possibly may have been the hardest worker), Wille Mays...etc.
This is a new Tour as of today!
Bruce H.

[bulliedawg]

The list can go on:
In the past there was Arnold Palmer, Rod Laver,Terry Bradshaw(who possibly may have been the hardest worker), Wille Mays...etc.
This is a new Tour as of today!
Bruce H.

The list is long one. No doubt. The more interesting question: Is the list of athletes who didn't live up to their ability longer or shorter than the list of athletes who did live up to their ability or beyond?

vlad guerrero is awesome. I'm sorry that I don't get to see him more, being in the eastern time zone.

[Russ]

....Character counts. Always has, always will. Armstrong's got it; Ulrich don't. What a shame.
Although I have said many times that I am not a big Lance fan, I do admit his courage and determination are incredible.

I attribute this mostly to Lance's cancer past problems... It reminds me of LeMond and his 1987 accident and how hard he tried to win the 1989 Tour.

Ulrich came from a communist East Germany, maybe after he won the Tour and found the pleasures and comfort of the West he got soft (?)*. I met Ulrich in Orlando not long ago, not riding, BTW. I spoke to the guy briefly, but when I asked him about his Winter training, it seemed that cycling was the last thing on his mind...

*This assumption is based on my observations of Cuban athletes. It seems that they are very good when they first come to the USA and they fade off not long after...

[Dr. Doofus]

[QUOTE=Russ]
Ulrich came from a communist East Germany, maybe after he won the Tour and found the pleasures and comfort of the West he got soft (?)*. I met Ulrich in Orlando not long ago, not riding, BTW. I spoke to the guy briefly, but when I asked him about his Winter training, it seemed that cycling was the last thing on his mind...
QUOTE]


c'mon russ, the guy was on vacation...how many times does he have to answer some bull**** question about his job?

with the exceptions of zabel, eki, tchmil, and vino, not many ex-easterners have been long-term successes...for the reasons you mentioned...now that the last iron curtain generation is into their 30s, we'll see how the slavic riders brought up in the hardscrabble not-quite-functioning "capitalist" east fare in the coming years...popovych and others....

[Russ]

c'mon russ, the guy was on vacation...how many times does he have to answer some bull**** question about his job?
Hey Doc,

The point I was trying to make here is that I don't think Ulrich was too serious (again!) about his winter training in 2003, when I saw him. But I may be wrong... But then again, he did not look to fit either. By the way, I thought the pros go on vacation in October or November, not in January!

I have met other pro riders in the winter and when I've asked "some bull**** question" they seem to answer much better than what I got from Ulrich!

Doc, you are sounding too much like the Jerk lately.... Is it time for a break from the forum?

Cheers!

[Dr. Doofus]

kreme-o-meister

you are not bull**** for asking the question. you're a smart guy.it was a risky, and bad, choice of words...the idea was that, you know, how many times does he have to answer that kind of question from fans or journalists?

jan finally dumped peter becker and started training with cecchini this year, but it seems like too many old habits are too hard to slay...like his cadence while climbing or in the tts...the weight gain isn't as big of an issue...you have to gain some fat to allow for significant muscle development, I forget what ferrari's term for that is, but its something that basso, for instance, finally allowed himself to do, and it paid off...jan suffers from lance comparisons because their bodies are so different...lance works to keep mass off, because explosiveness and strength are such natural assets for him, and he needs to keep his relative VO2 high...jan has decided to try and maximize his strengths and develop more mass so that he keeps the raw power while he slims down in the summer....

jan isn't the bigger talent. that's a very successful head game that armstrong and his handlers have been able to spin...jan had the misfortune of being born the second-best in the world at what he does.


am i sounding crabby?

[Dekonick]

Any of the riders in the Tour just amaze me. Did anyone notice how fast they ride up those climbs? Looking at the spectators gives you a true feel for the grade... ouch!

Lance is a breed apart - no doubt.

And he works hard - really hard!

[Russ]

am i sounding crabby?
No Doc!

You sound fine, and always make it up if you ever did.... That's why we are your devoted thread readers here ;)

All this is clear and I undersdand your points. But let me clarify this thing with Ulrich just to settle all. You see, I was lucky to spend about 3 hours with the guy, because a friend-of-a-friend knew him and he invitied me to come along. I tried to not ask cycling related questions to the guy, for the very same reasons you stated in your previous post.

But, as you may know, it is almost inevitable that someone some how is always going to ask you something about your job, right? That's how the cycling questions came up and we were a bit surprised by what we heard.... however, I'll post no further comments on this!

Have a good weekend, I'm going ridding now! :)