Ullrich's racing program

BigSpecs
BigSpecs Posts: 309
edited March 2009 in Pro race
I am feeling a bit nostalgic after my earlier post. This is something I have been mulling over in my head for a while. The (now deposed/ disgraced) Kaiser was always very focussed on the Tour, particularly in his later career. I know he did ride some one day races (with some success, he was Olympic champion) but I have always wondered how he would have got on if he had focussed on other races rather than the Tour. After all, it was the long climbs where he used to always be found susceptible. He was (when fit) a magnificent physical specimen and those thighs could put out some power. How do you think his deisel engine would have coped with Roubaix? or Flanders? or Liege etc.? Just a thought to pass the time...

Comments

  • teagar
    teagar Posts: 2,100
    He could have won anything he put himself to. Unfortunately, his other habits got the better of him. Wasn't committed enough I think. I can't see Jan being in peak form (or even just weight...) in early April?

    Made him more likeable though.
    Note: the above post is an opinion and not fact. It might be a lie.
  • timoid.
    timoid. Posts: 3,133
    He hated cold weather, so that's the spring classics out. Maybe he could have done something in Lombardy. People forget that the man could sprint too. Could have had a decent crack at the World Championships
    It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    He was Olympic RR champion. As Timoid says, he wasn't at his best in the cold so winning races like Flanders seems harder but he had the engine to challenge. Also, he was not the best bike handler either so I wouldn't back him on a tricky day on the roads to Roubaix.

    These races also require experience, the ability to place yourself on the road properly and to fight for position. So no matter what your power, there is a craft to be learned here as well. But he had incredible power to weight. Of course that was assisted, but I'm sure he would have been able to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege, had it been necessary.
  • GroupOfOne MkII
    GroupOfOne MkII Posts: 1,289
    Timoid. wrote:
    He hated cold weather, so that's the spring classics out. Maybe he could have done something in Lombardy.

    Didn't he get a couple of podiums in the Championship of Zurich, which is fairly close to the type of race Lombardy is.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Clayton Velo Spring Classic.

Categories