He won today's Dauphine. I laugh every time I see him ride though. His helmet never seems to fit on his head quite right but boy can he climb and suffer with the best of them.
Vino's looking good
- Thread starter Heidi
- Start date
it's too bad tmobil is made up of individuals that are very stong like him. I'd like to see them Ditch urlich as #1 for tdf and let vino take a crack at it.Heidi said:
The thing about T-Mobile is that, unlike some other teams full of egotistical superstars, they know how to work together and they focus on the team's goal, which is that one of them win the TdF. You can bet if Vino gets off the front in the race, they'll all work for him. Ullrich may have had a poor Tour last year, but he's still the naturally strongest bike racer on the planet.
It's going to be a very interesting Tour this year. T-Mobile, not just Jan, want to stop the madness that is Lance. The other contenders (Basso, Leipheimer, Landis and Julich to name a few) could benefit from T-Mobile's tactics. They're all good tt'ers but don't have the greatest team to help them through the mountains. If any of those riders can mark the big moves consistently then they stand a chance at pulling a major upset in the overall. We'll have to see who survives the traditional stage 1 crash.
As far as Vino's helmet is concerned, he'd probably get better coverage from a skatelid. He's definitely one of my favorite riders. When he's on form, he's nearly invincible...he's put down some of the most vicious attacks I've seen in the time I've watched road racing.
As far as Vino's helmet is concerned, he'd probably get better coverage from a skatelid. He's definitely one of my favorite riders. When he's on form, he's nearly invincible...he's put down some of the most vicious attacks I've seen in the time I've watched road racing.
Why is that folks always say the tour is going to be interesting and then run off a list of "contenders" all of which fold like cheap suits when Lance and the team decided to turn up the heat.
As for Ullrich being the naturally strongest bike racer on the planet..... what exactly does that mean? What I see is a physically gifted athlete that has the mental strength of turnip. Which certainly doesn't create the strongest bike racer on the planet in my mind.
T-mobile has a strong group of riders but not a team of any sort. Especially not one capable of beating Lance. You wanna beat Lance you better bring a team full of riders that are willing without a second thought to grind themselves to dirt for their leader. Not some riders that might be saving themselves in case the "leader" isn't ready. Discovery riders KNOW that when they make their sacrifice Lance is going to ready to take advantage of it. You think the T-mobile riders feel the same way?
Its not going to be interesting at all. Lance and Discovery are going to roll the race like they do every year.
As for Ullrich being the naturally strongest bike racer on the planet..... what exactly does that mean? What I see is a physically gifted athlete that has the mental strength of turnip. Which certainly doesn't create the strongest bike racer on the planet in my mind.
T-mobile has a strong group of riders but not a team of any sort. Especially not one capable of beating Lance. You wanna beat Lance you better bring a team full of riders that are willing without a second thought to grind themselves to dirt for their leader. Not some riders that might be saving themselves in case the "leader" isn't ready. Discovery riders KNOW that when they make their sacrifice Lance is going to ready to take advantage of it. You think the T-mobile riders feel the same way?
Its not going to be interesting at all. Lance and Discovery are going to roll the race like they do every year.
i totally agree with everything but the uninteresting thing. It's going to be a good one unless they open a can of whoop arse that blows the race appart in the very first stage. with lance being as smart as he is he wont let that happen. suspense is a great market seller.DRB said:
that's a great article btw.
Damn you, DRB - why you gotta' burst my bubble?
It's a given that Discovery will be firing on all cylinders (less Eki, dammit). Hell, the way Hincapie, Savoldelli, Chechu and a few others have been riding thus far, the only thing that will stop him is an act of God...or the huge stage 1 wreck that everybody in the world knows will happen. They'll be so far up front on that stage that Lance himself could challenge the top sprinters if he didn't have to conserve himself for later. As meticulous as he is in his preparations, one's luck can only hold up so long. Six years is one hell of a streak - let alone consecutively. Seven just seems surreal. Then again, so does somebody coming from the brink of death itself only to arise and become a dominant force in an elite-level sport.
I just want to see him have to fight tooth and nail for this one. '03 was a tight shave, but my gut is telling me there will be an equal to the task this year.
Very interesting article. I have found it odd that they can hire a very talented rider only to have them fade into obscurity, yet move on to any other team and flourish once again. The Ullrich situation where he went to Team Bianchi and had his closest result since his win in '97 and didn't even make the podium last year after rejoining T-Mobile was thought provoking.
It's not like they're a low-budget team.
It's a given that Discovery will be firing on all cylinders (less Eki, dammit). Hell, the way Hincapie, Savoldelli, Chechu and a few others have been riding thus far, the only thing that will stop him is an act of God...or the huge stage 1 wreck that everybody in the world knows will happen. They'll be so far up front on that stage that Lance himself could challenge the top sprinters if he didn't have to conserve himself for later. As meticulous as he is in his preparations, one's luck can only hold up so long. Six years is one hell of a streak - let alone consecutively. Seven just seems surreal. Then again, so does somebody coming from the brink of death itself only to arise and become a dominant force in an elite-level sport.
I just want to see him have to fight tooth and nail for this one. '03 was a tight shave, but my gut is telling me there will be an equal to the task this year.
Very interesting article. I have found it odd that they can hire a very talented rider only to have them fade into obscurity, yet move on to any other team and flourish once again. The Ullrich situation where he went to Team Bianchi and had his closest result since his win in '97 and didn't even make the podium last year after rejoining T-Mobile was thought provoking.
It's not like they're a low-budget team.
Here is more of what's wrong with T-Mobile...
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2005/tour05/?id=/riders/2005/interviews/vino_kloden_tour05
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2005/tour05/?id=/riders/2005/interviews/vino_kloden_tour05
Preparation is such an excellent tool for winning.
I wonder if Kloden realizes that he lost stage 17 sprint to Lance last year because Lance wanted it more.
Ask that of any Discovery rider to a man and I can promise what the answer is. Eventhough Floyd is gone I'll never forget something he said last year after Stage 17. "Lance tried to let me win today but Ullrich didn't want me to win, so Lance won. Ha! Which is better anyway.
Just brimming with confidence in their "leader".