Interesting and probably accurate comment. But then again, hardly a criticism since this man is a professional cyclist and a gifted one at that. Man's got bills to pay.......

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Yea but Riis would have made him be more discipline then he obviously is. The money would have come if he would win. He would beat Lance if he would apply himself more--Lance even thinks so. The four time winner says he is the most gifted rider in the world. What else do you need for confidence?

From what I have heard/read there seem to be a couple of things that really worked in Coast's "favor" towards getting Jan..
-More money, obviously
-The money seems to be less incentive based than the CSC offer ( is the knee really healed? recent reports seem to cast doubt on this)
-Coast let Jan bring along a Domestique and, basically, his entire trainig infrastructure from the past several seasons. I don't think this would have happened with Riis - he is pure type A, and would most certainly have been training Jan himself...
MH

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
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A yellow shirt in Paris.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Tom, I'll believe that when I see it. I'm a big Team Once fan, but if I was a betting man I'd still go with Lance.

I'm a Lance believer too. That other fella asked what Jan would need for confidence (aside from Lance's comments). I think the answer Jan Ulrich needs is to beat Lance, but I don't see it......

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I think Lance was practicing the old tried and true athlete's game of talking up the competition. Keeps one motivated. Makes one's own eventual victory that much sweeter.

I don't think anyone that really follows Lance believes for a second that Lance thinks Lance is anything other than the fastest cyclist on the planet. Lance is the only one that can beat Lance, and Lance knows it.

Jan is still a relatively young mega-talent in his sport, but seems to be going down a tricksy path. Sure, we all make mistakes, and he's entitled to (his drug episode) make some. But it seems that he is keeping his surroundings as familiar as possible, surrounding himself with "trusted" cohorts. That's a sign of a man with low confidence. I don't think he truly believes he can come back. I don't think he truly believes he can beat Lance. If he did, then $$ be damned, he'd have gone with Riis. He knows Riis would have challenged him and pushed him beyond his current "limits." He knows that both he and the world would have found out once and for all if he is capable of beating Lance in his prime. Instead Jan wants to stay as status quo as possible. Now that he has secured a living for the next few years, we'll see what becomes of him. I hope I'm wrong. I hope he is truly able to make the Tour at least a two man race tossup. I'm betting I'm right, though.

The guy who can beat Lance is Botero, at least sometimes on a TT. I also think Beloki or Gonzalez de Galdeano might have a shot. Go Team Once!

Probably, not unless Lance crashes or gets sick. Maybe even if his Spanish watch dogs falter or get pissed at him for never helping them in their quest for victory at the Tour of Spain.

I predict two major tour wins for USPS this year. Lance is as much of a lock on the Tour as anyone ever can be this far out. I don't know what Roberto is doing this offseason, but I'll be a monkey's uncle if he's not working on that elusive TT prowess! Not only that, I think they will field a stronger Vuelta team this year, hopefully giving RH more time gaps through the mountains. Jan will have to wait.....

You can read what Lance had to say about Ulrich at www.procycling.com I just saw this magazine for the first time, don't know where to get it but their websight is full of info.

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

Probably very true. Remember, Jan thinks differently than we might. He was raised in an orphanage in the former East germany, I believe. This would probably have a lifelong impact on thoughts and actions.

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

Your talking amount a small difference in money between teams. He seems to be one of those guys who doesn't care about wins but money associated with being a professional. He doesn't want to work at a real job. Just does enough to get by.

Not technically true. The one year salary is significantly higher than CSC could offer outright. The equalizer was that CSC had performance incentives that made up most of the difference. More than that, however, Coast has signed him for a multi-year (3, I think) deal. CSC could only sign him for one year. That is a significant amount of contract security and bottom line dollars. It is a heavy gamble by Coast, especially since he forced them to take on several pieces of baggage. Again, I HOPE he can make something of a go at it.