Indurain bedauert Ullrichs Rücktritt

[dooyou]

http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/sport_sto1100032.shtml

Five-times Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain has lamented the manner in which Jan Ullrich retired from competitive cycling.

The 33-year-old German, who won the Tour de France in 1997, was withdrawn from the T-Mobile team before last year's race after being linked with the Operation Puerto doping investigation in Spain.

He was suspended and then dropped by T-Mobile and had been without a professional team since then, although he continued to protest his innocence and had not been charged with a doping offence. Ullrich said he was fed up with the criticism.

"Although at 33 he didn't have much cycling left in his legs, it is a shame he has had to retire in this manner," Indurain wrote in Marca.

"He has been the classiest rider of the last decade, perhaps no more than Lance Armstrong, but certainly no less."

After winning the Tour in 1997, Ullrich never managed to completely fulfil his potential and spent most of his career trying to catch Armstrong, to whom he finished second in 2000, 2001, 2003, and third in 2005.

"Ullrich was a complete cyclist and dominated in all areas, especially in time-trails, but he never knew how to focus himself on specific objectives. That's where Armstrong got the better of him," Indurain added.

"Also the American was a better tactician. Rather than say Armstrong won the Tours it would be more accurate to say Ullrich sometimes lost them, because he didn't know how to make the most of his opportunities."

Ullrich said he had turned down offers from other teams to continue his active career, and had accepted a post as adviser to the Austrian Volksbank team.

Spaniard Indurain won back-to-back Tour de France titles between 1991 and 1995.

 

[dooyou]

AW: Indurain bedauert Ullrichs Rücktritt

Das ist sicher als ein Kompliment von höchster Stelle zu sehen. Immerhin gibt sich Indurain eher zurückhaltend. Ganz anders als ein Merckx und Hinault, die fast täglich ihre Meinungen kund tun.

Aber wir wissen alle, was nützt das beste Kompliment wenn man die derzeitige Situation betrachtet. Vielleicht sollten wir oder auch vor allem ich nicht mehr an sein Karriereende denken. Es wäre so oder so gekommen. Das es unter diesen Umständen passierte ist bedauerlich u. es wird wohl noch so einiges an die Öffentlichkeit gelangen.
So ziehen wir im Grunde genommen das selbe Fazit wie 98', der Radsport wird sich nicht ändern. Vielleicht etwas sauberer für die Öffentlichkeit (wie es von T-Mobile vorgelebt wird), aber im inneren genauso dreckig wie eh und je.

Aber gut, was in den Amateuerklassen beginnt (oder schon viel früher) findet natürlich bei den Profis die Vollendung. Der Fan wird trotzdem am Steckenrand stehen.

Je nach Reputation in seinem Heimatland wird eben ein Sportler mehr "verfolgt" oder auch nicht, wie bei Ullrich zu sehen. Basso fährt, den hat er auch nicht betrogen, genauso wie alle anderen. Denn (möglicherweise) machen es ja die genauso. Schöne heile Welt!