Will Jan win TDF after Lance?

[allgoo19]

Well, people talk about how many wins Jan could have if Lance wasn't there. He maybe the unluckiest contender in history of TDF. He could have won all six instead of Lance. It's just a bad dream.

Let's be more realistic. Jan won't win TDF as long as Lance is competing in it. I even get impresion that he's mentally beaten by Lance that he decided that he can never win(as long as Lance is there).

Here's my question, "Will he ever win?"
Maybe he gets his confidence back without a dark cloud over his head. Maybe he shoots off like a rocket. My gut feeling is that it won't happen. I think he past his prime. So, the answer to my own question is "no". I think it'll be a while unitl we see another dominant racer takes three consecutive wins.

Make it easier to post a reply, you think Jan Ullrich will win(besides the one he already has)....

0 TDF title
1 TDF title
2 TDF title ??

[indie kid]

He said something about being at the end of his career, so maybe this is his last tour as well?

[collegeskier]

He said something about being at the end of his career, so maybe this is his last tour as well?

Ever quote from Jan seems to say I am racing to beat Lance nothing about the future. I think he might finish the year and call it quits as well.

[Crack'n'fail]

If he can't beat Lance this year, he won't win again. That being said, if he really is stronger this year and it's not just the same old smoke blowing, I could have to eat my words.

I think the younger talent will close the gap by next year. Guys like Basso, Landis, maybe Cunego, will be improving while age will start to catch up with Jan. I think Lance sees that on the horizon as well, which may have contributed to him making this year his last shot.

[squeegy200]

Jan has remained consistent for a very long time. Much like Felice Gimondi of the 60s-70s.

Felice won every major tour until Eddy Mercx arrived on the scene. Eddy's dominance overshadowed everybody until his retirement in the mid 70s. At that point, Felice once again emerged at the top taking several classics races and a World Champion title.

Jan is a professional and hopefully will be competitive for sometime after Lance retires.

[allgoo19]

Well, as the tour goes on, it looks more and more like 0 TDF wins for Jan after Lance retirement(meaning not counting this year).

Nobody has the positive opinion of Jan's future?

This thread starterd before the tour. At the time there was over whelming positive opinions for Jan making shot at Lance this last time. Now that only one bad stage had changed people's mind.

Where had those people gone?

[97 Teran]

0.

Regardless of what happens this year, I expect he'll want to ride in '06. If he doesn't win that (I'm betting he won't), or at least make it extreeeeeemely tight, I'd be very surprised if he didn't retire immediately, in August '06.

I like Jan a lot, but he's a one-trick pony who... can't do his one trick. So he's merely a foil.

[240GL]

Cyclingnews a couple of days ago. Please excuse the long quote, I found it all quite interesting. Sorry if it has been posted before.

"Merckx: Ullrich disappointing, Armstrong impressive

Eddy Merckx is very disappointed in Jan Ullrich. "Ullrich is not capable of behaving as he should. Talent alone is not enough. If you don't work hard, you'll never make it to the top."

In an interview in the July 4 edition of the German Spiegel news magazine, Merckx predicted that Lance Armstrong will win the Tour again. "I think Armstrong is simply in better form. Plus, Lance is ending his career after the Tour and wants to go out as a winner."

When he first met Ullrich, Merckx said, he was sure that he was an immensely talented rider who could win the Tour more times than even the "the Cannibal" did. "I was sure of it, in light of his superiority...But he can't stand up to the pressure and most especially, he doesn't have the necessary motivation.

"Jan is a nice guy, but he doesn't have the overwhelming ambition of an Armstrong," he continued. "Jan started in cycling very young and from the beginning, the demands were very high. He had to win. But when you are confronted with the stress of competitive sports too early, you have to pay the price one day. Your psyche can't accept it any more, the hunger to win fades. Then either you stop or you make yourself comfortable. Like Jan. I can imagine that he said to himself, 'I'm a good enough cyclist, I may as well turn pro."' He doesn't have the passion for it - the sacrifices are too big for him."

Merckx started out impressed with Ullrich and now sees him more negatively, but his feelings for Armstrong have gone the opposite direction: "He was a young bull of a man, powerful, wild, too heavy for the big climbs, a typical rider for one-day races or flat stages. And he didn't live just for his sport. He liked to drink, and he didn't always eat right. There's nothing wrong with a beer or two, but he didn't always control himself. The cancer totally changed his whole life. Now everything he does is solely to contribute to his success."

He is sure that Armstrong will win the Tour again this year. The two made a short training ride together this spring, and Armstrong "repeatedly said, 'I'll give everything for the Tour one more time, then it's over.' It's perfectly clear for him that he will win. Since then, I am convinced that he will leave the stage as a champion."

Merckx rejects any comparisons between himself and Armstrong. "I was maybe the best in my time, as Lance is in his - nothing more."