A Bit of Human Nature

Its been said that we never fully appreciate something (someone) until after its (they are) gone. Just a case of human nature, I guess. So with Jan Ullrich's retirement, it wasn't surprising to hear from his contemporaries and some of the all-time cycling greats praising a cyclist who was perhaps, as someone said, one of the most gracious and human in the sport.

From Velonews:
"Maybe Jan was too laid back but the fact is that cycling has lost a great name," Eddy Merckx

From Cyclingnews:
"Five-time Tour winner Miguel Induráin has declared that Jan Ullrich "was one of the greatest" according to Spanish newspaper Marca . Induráin also described Ullrich's retirement as a pity but said that the German's career was impeccable. "He is one of the few of my era who has always been on the podium, even if he failed to win more races."

From Pezcyclingnews (which had a whole page of quotables):
"I watched Der Kaiser race at both the Tour and the Giro. What amazed me most was how he would ride himself into shape over the course of those three-week events.

At last year's Giro, Ullrich was admittedly heavy and not in top condition, and his early results revealed more than a few flaws in his form. But as the weeks wore on, he just got better and better. While other guys were cracking, Ullrich was pulling it all together. At the TTT, from Piacenza to Cremona, Ullrich lead the T-Mobile train for much of the day, but he was pretty much spent as they rolled into Cremona.

Just one week later, in the Pontadera TT, it was big Jan's day to shine. He beat Basso for the stage win, and it showed that Ullrich was going to be a formidable force for the rest of the summer."
- Bob Cullinan

Here's a nice YouTube Tribute to The Diesel: