I have no idea why Ullrich changed his cadence a bit and I don't really think it says much. He did however have more success in the 90's than after the millenium but the only thing that proves is that he seemed to do ok in a range of cadences and not just a certain rpm. Regarding riding at 85rpm I do think it's at the very low range for most people but there have been guys like Gonchar, Grabsch etc winning tt worlds with around that cadence so I don't think it's as absurd as you think that some very fast people are riding around 85-90rpm. You seem to have a hard time accepting that things are not working in exactly the same way for everyone.
I agree to a point that the cadence varies by intensity but I don't think you can set that cadence to within a few rpm's just by stating a certain race duration. I don't think most triathletes riding a 40km tt at 300-350w should necessarally shoot for the same cadence as a pro rider holding 450-500w and dealing with much higher pedalling forces.
BA coaching http://www.bjornandersson.se
I agree to a point that the cadence varies by intensity but I don't think you can set that cadence to within a few rpm's just by stating a certain race duration. I don't think most triathletes riding a 40km tt at 300-350w should necessarally shoot for the same cadence as a pro rider holding 450-500w and dealing with much higher pedalling forces.
BA coaching http://www.bjornandersson.se