Originally Posted by Duke of Kent

You also claim that you can ride 20% grades in your big rig.

Originally Posted by Vinokurtov

Ulrich showed up in great shape for the 2003 tour and still finished second.

And it wasn't a lack of fitness when Panatani cracked him.
Ulrich had a few fatal flaws other than his fondness for strudel, like not being able to ride in bad conditions, a lack of accelleration on steeper climbs, no killer instinct, no sprint, and poor strategic sense (and lousy teams). At best he might have taken all seconds to LA but that's it. He wasted a slice of his loaf of bread, but made very tasty sandwiches out of the rest.