Der Kaiser Tritt Zurück

The news was expected, but like most announcements, you're never sure until you hear it out of the horse's mouth. So its official, or as official as any athlete claims, the emperor, Jan Ullrich, is hanging up his enigmatic cleats. T-o-03 will have to find another whipping boy.

But before we've kicked him to the curb, here's a 1998 cartoon (Velonews, Patrick O'Grady) as a parting shot, one which T-o-03 would be proud, detailing Jan's infamous "off"-season training regimen.


And a classic quote from Jan's former T-Mobile Director Sportif, Walter Grodefroot:

"Unlike [Lance] Armstrong, [Jan] Ullrich doesn't have the killer instinct. He's not obsessed. It's too bad. Because if you mixed the professionalism of an Erik Zabel with the talent of a Jan Ullrich, you'd have an Eddy Merckx."

So where does he go from here? Jan had already thought about what he might do after he had turned a pedal in anger for the last time. Try this one on for size: Jan Ullrich Cycles. Plus he's also been linked to an Austrian cycling team, Volksbank (not sure in what capacity).

You could be the first one on your block...

Take Care Diesel! At least we had 2003!