How about some good news about former cyclist Jan Ullrich for a change? Jan and wife, Sara, are expecting their first child in September. "This wonderful situation makes up for a lot and shows again what really counts in life: family, happiness, health and love," he wrote on his website. Ullrich has a 3-year-old daughter by a previous relationship.

I suppose we ought to allow Jan Ullrich to rest in peace, right? After all, the guy has retired.
However ...
A DNA sample taken from 1997 Tour de France champion has been matched to blood bags seized in the Spanish doping scandal, German prosecutors said Tuesday.
"We found nine blood samples that we were able to compare with the blood samples," Friedrich Apostel, a spokesman for prosecutors in Bonn, said during a television interview. "We were able to establish the identity of Ullrich."
Ullrich retired from cycling on Feb. 26 after his name surfaced in Operation Puerto, which led to him being excluded from last Tour. He has denied using any banned substances.
Apostel said the comparison established the link "without a doubt."
In a brief statement posted on Ullrich's website, the cyclist's lawyer said he did not rule out manipulation.
I think Bad Boy Floyd has already used that one, Jan.

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:

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!

It's official, T-Mobile has sacked Der Kaiser, Jan Ullrich, as a result of the allegations stemming from Operacion Puerto. Full story on Velonews.com.

Have we heard the last of Good Old Jan?
From the VeloNews blog:
German media reports that Jan Ullrich will not be taking place in the usual post-Tour criteriums, races which generally don't offer much prestige, but usually offer boatloads of cash.

Ullrich's agent Walter Strohband said that Ullrich has contracts to ride in several events, but given the current environment, he would be the focus of attention for all of the wrong reasons.

"Jan said he would prefer to pull out of the races and to let the organizers know now, so that they can work to attract other big-name cyclists for their events."

Jan Ullrich, MY PICK, Granny, for the Tour de France (start up the bandwagon!) won the 2006 Tour of Switzerland Sunday, taking the 30.7-kilometer time trial to win the final stage of the nine-day race.
How many time trials are there in the Tour de France?
Twelve?
Doing what he does best (photo by AFP) -- time trials -- Ullrich trailed Koldo Gil (Saunier Duval) and Jorg Jaksche (Gerolsteiner) at the start of the TT final stage (which is a great way to end a stage race rather than those silly celebration stages).
Good thing they don't have Tim Horton's donuts in Switzerland, eh?

Even if its not quite so hard to keep up with Jan Ullrich’s TT speed these days, he’s certainly making up for it on the fashion front. In a Madonnaesque display of style switching, Ullrich has lost his long locks which he carefully cultivated over his winter and extended training period. Also gone is the earring.

Rumours that Jan’s long-time coach Rudy Pevenage had an influence are as of yet unconfirmed. However Parisian fashion writer Mathild le Grand-Bouche commented that “moi, I fink zat zis new style is, how do you say... tres chic and zat earring wiv zat long air was so 80’s rocker. All ‘ee needed was a faded Metallica t-shirt, mai non!”

Now, what would cycling be without OBJ?

OK, where do I start?
There's just too much news to ignore:

Why am I not surprised?
Lance Armstrong's ex-wife, Kristin Richard, told Oprah Winfrey on Tuesday that their four-year marriage was anything but smooth, that she felt "smothered," and that the experience turned her from an opinionated career person into a "yes" woman. Not Our Boy Lance! Richard said that her role was strictly to cheer on Armstrong. "It wasn't Lance saying, 'You should be like this' or 'Do this.' It wasn't him making a mandate and me being a mouse. It was me trying to emulate whatever I thought would be the perfect wife or the perfect mother." And: "We think we're trying to please somebody for the sake of our marriage, but then if you ask Lance today if he appreciated that, I think he would probably say, 'Well, that wasn't the woman that I fell in love with.'" And the first time they met: "He had just finished up his chemotherapy. He was bald and cute."

Why am I reminded of Joseba Beloki?
Italy's Alessandro Petacchi's Tour de France dreams are over for this year after fracturing his left kneecap in a nasty fall at the Giro d'Italia on Monday. "Even if I recover from surgery, I will never have time to get fit," Petacchi told French sports daily L'Equipe. The injury will sideline him for two months; an operation has been set for Wednesday in Italy. "This is the worst injury in my career. I must abandon the Giro and won't be able to ride at the Tour, either," he said.

Who does OBL like now?
"At the moment I would say it has to be (Ivan) Basso," says Our Boy Lance, who has dropped Jan Ullrich yet again. Sometimes, OBL likes his former Discovery Channel teammate and defending Giro d'Italia champion Paolo Savodelli. "However it is tough to say what could happen in the coming six weeks." Keep those options open, Lance!

Whither Bettini?
There are rumours in the Belgian press that Paolo Bettini has been offered a contract by German T-Mobile, who are reported to be looking for a new Classics leader. The Italian rider has been thinking that he would like to move out of Tom Boonen's shadow to be a sole team leader at the Classics.

And the latest on the silliest controvery of the Classics season ...
One month after Paris-Roubaix, disqualified riders Leif Hoste, Vladimir Gusev (both Discovery Channel) and Peter Van Petegem (Davitamon-Lotto) still hope for a rectification of the commissaire's decision following their riding through a railway crossing with 15 kilometres to go. The three riders were chasing eventual winner Fabian Cancellara (CSC) and would have fought for second, third and fourth placing, then taken by Tom Boonen (QuickStep), Alessandro Ballan (Lampre) and Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank). The complaint that the disqualified riders' respective team managements had filed to the UCI has been granted.