My impression after 100 pages is that Jan Ulrich may be the most talented individual to come along in pro cycling since Merckx. And that pro cycling on the world class level today is so unforgiving of any lack of focus/discipline that you can't even get away with being 5lbs overweight in April. "Overweight" being a relative term here. Of course a pro cyclist who's 5lbs overweight is underweight by any reasonably normal standard.

I'm convinced that Jan never won another TDF because he lacked the focus/maturity/discipline to put him over the top of Lance - and that maybe he could have done so with a different approach. His 5 2nd place finishes at the Tour seem like an enormous testament to his sheer natural ability. And he may well be too nice of a guy to have the 'killer' instinct guys like Merckx, Armstrong and Hinault all seemed to thrive upon...