Does anyone else find it funny that they keep referring to Ullrich as “the big german” at 6’, 160 lbs? I read before the race started that the average weight for the riders in the Tour was 152 or 154 lbs (I don’t remember which). It doesn’t seem like Jan’s that much heavier than the average. I wonder why everyone perceives him to be such a big guy? There are many riders in the peloton a whole lot bigger than he is.
He’s not much bigger than average, but he’s on the big side for a GC contender. Remember, those averages take into account the sprinters who can barely get their arses over the mountains.
It’s funny how people think about those exceptional athletes in the tout.
It almost looks like the guy in the mall that makes a cartoon picture of your girlfriend for 20$, if she has a nose that might be a little above average, you can be sure he’s going to draw that nose as huge as he can.
It’s the same in the tour. Jan is a fat guy, Iban Mayo can only climb but is the weakest TT ever, the sprinters can’t get their arses over the mountains…
I don’t know you, Eric, but I would bet a lot of money that you couldn’t follow Zabel over a big mountain stage in the tour. Maybe you think about that the next time you choose your words to express the specialization of professional bike riders.
lance is 165 and 5’10" so I dont understand the topic here. 160 for 6’ is very light, I should know, those are my stats.
I don’t know you, Eric, but I would bet a lot of money that you couldn’t follow Zabel over a big mountain stage in the tour. Maybe you think about that the next time you choose your words to express the specialization of professional bike riders.
What in God’s name are you babbling about? 
I think you are taking the “Big German” tag a bit too literally - he IS big, as in “the Big Dog,” “The Big Gun,” etc. In the past, he has been a bit overweight, but that isn’t what they’re getting at, methinks.
PS - Lance isn’t 165#. No way. Total smokescreen, he probably weighs that in December. I’m guessing under 150 at the prologue.
MH
Fredly is correct. Ain’t no way he’s 165. I stood eyeball-to-eyeball with him and shook his hand last December…he wasn’t 165 then, either. He’s 150-155 tops.
He may have very dense bones? 
He could, indeed! A deer’s bones are much smaller, and more dense than a cow’s bones. Not that I’m calling anyone a cow. I was surprised at Mr. Armstrong’s small skeletal frame size, though. He obviously gets a large amount of muscle to work efficiently via those smaller bones!
Bone density withstanding, article on cyclingnews.com quoted Armstrong as saying he weighed 66.5kg after the time trial (down from 72kg). This converts to approx 146.605lbs.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2003/tour03/?id=results/stage13
maurice
In that article it quotes him as saying:
“The fact of the matter is that I started Saturday at probably 72.5kg and finished the time trial at 66.5kg, so something definately went wrong… With dehydration like that… One, you can’t do a maximum effort, and and two, you can’t recover in one day.”
That means that in the time trial he started at about 160lbs and ended at about 147lbs, which means that he lost about 13.2lbs, which is loss of water… dehydration. That’s an extraordinary amount! I’m no expert… but he still looks a little gaunt, so he may not have recovered completely.
I’d would tend to guess armstrong has fairly dense bones. His childhood as an excessive swimmer, and a decent runner would definetly contribute to that. Mountain biking also creates stronger bones I’m told. But in fairness, there’s no way he’s 165 right now. Probably 155 or less.
I was thinking about this whole weight loss thing and thinking it was a bit absurd. But a few weeks ago I did the hardest century I’ve ever done. It was freaking hilly and hot. I drank more fluids on the bike than I ever have before during a century. This includes two unplanned stops at convienence stores to restock and drink whatever I could. After the ride I hit McDonalds and ate a Quarter Pounder value meal plus an additional Quarter Pounder. When I got home my cheap and unscientific home scale said I lost 6.5 lbs. Oh yea, I never took a leak between the pre and post ride weighings. Granted, I’m 200 pounds, so 6.5 lbs only represents 3.25% of my body weight. But I was still astounded at the amount of fliuds I drank at the stops. To the point that I couldn’t believe I got it all down. I’m not saying that I buy Lance’s story, but I do think it can be easier to shed massive amounts of weight than we admit. To do it in an hour??? I dunno. Man I hope he can pull through this.
As a previous poster mentioned, the weight change came over the period of the day…perhaps after breakfast and after the time trial. In college, we had to weigh ourselves before and after every practice in order to make sure we were replacing fluid fast enough. Many of the larger boys could lose 10 lbs even during a quick workout, if it was hot. And, they were very adamant about frequent fluid breaks. I don’t think I ever lost that much, but I was only about 180. I can see how this 13.2 lb weight loss could happen over the period of a day in an athlete his size. Once you get past the acute dehydration symptoms, the big problem is recovery. These guys are simply amazing, being able to ride like they do, day after day.