Bobby Julich in the shadow of Armstrong....

goos cyclist and yes in the shadow of lance- but rightly so. Probably the best start to the season he has had but it is v v v early in the year

Bobby Julich's career has been totally rejuvenated since moving to CSC from T-Mobile under the direction of the Great Dane Bjarne Riis. Expect Bobby to achieve unparalleled success this year in having a director and team situation that has his best interests in mind. It is a great story.

CSC has been dominating races early this year. I look for Basso to have a fantastic Tour De France.

Hey Bob, speaking of CSC, what do you think of Cervelo bicycles? I have a Trek, but am interested in the Soloist by Cervelo.

Ivan Basso will race Giro AND the Tour this year. He could win the Giro but to repeat his 2nd place from 2004 Tdf will be difficult. Nobody seems to succesfully compete in both the same season.

Riders to watch-out for this season in the big tours are:

Damiano Cunego, Bobby Julich, Bradley Mcgee, Floyd Landis, Alejandro Valverde.

I believe the cervelos are very good. this may be of interest to you

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/2005/probikes/?id=julich_csc_cervelo

CSC was just ridiculous at the Criterium. They look very very strong this season. Also I agree about Damiano Cunego this gonna be a complete stud.

It's not a soloist, but i have a Dual. Splendid bike, especially since I use it for road and TT.

Thanks, interesting article. Biking has been great, the old legs just don't recover from runs like they used to.

Bobby Julich is a class act. He seems to get caught up in a lot of unlucky situations in the big races though. He performed great at the Olympics, should have won a silver (if Tyler disqualified) but did not complain. I bet he could beat Lance at the Tour De Georgia in April.

bob roll wrote:

Bobby Julich's career has been totally rejuvenated since moving to CSC from T-Mobile under the direction of the Great Dane Bjarne Riis. Expect Bobby to achieve unparalleled success this year in having a director and team situation that has his best interests in mind. It is a great story.

Yes. Mr. 60% has really improved quite a few riders. Like Basso, Tyler Hamilton, and Julich.

Before finishing second five times in the Tour, Jan Ulrich was Bjarne Riis' teammate at Telekom.

SWEDES wrote:

Hey Bob, speaking of CSC, what do you think of Cervelo bicycles? I have a Trek, but am interested in the Soloist by Cervelo.

Go Kuota - Best bike I've ever riden - Kuota Ksano

Ivan seems like the obvious successer to Lance. I believe USPS,tried to sign him last summer. Maybe expect a bit of movement after the tour. If Lance decides ennough is ennough- can u seem him in a management position??

SWEDES,

I absolutely LOVE the Cervelo rides. Gerard Vroomen and Phil White have been making some fantastic bikes up there in Canada (eh!) for several years. I have been a long time advocate of the wind cheating P3 (and now the amazingly ridiculous aero P3si, but I am even more impressed with the r2.5. This is an incredibly light bike, that retains a strong stiff bottom bracket that you don't often see in some of the carbon frames these days. I am very old school and enjoy the feel of the stiff bottom bracket where you really experience the inertia of cranking away on an aluminum ride so I tend to be a hard sell on carbon frames. Another good one is the Orbea Orca...very stiff feeling and very very light.

Two thumbs up from Bobke!

yes he was darkness.

the mighty German's biggest career mistake, in my humble opinion, was not taking his opportunity to join up with Riis at CSC and opting for the brief stint with Bianchi. Jan would have blossomed into the rider he is capable of being a few years back under the guidance of the crafty Danish director. Ullrich has an amazing engine, one of the best, if not the best, that is capable of many great things. Jan has finally been doing the off season work and early season mileage, but has been experiencing setbacks with illness too. The early season work, regardless of the illness, will pay off for Ullrich. It beats his usual off season diet of bavarian eclairs and little to no kilometers. He has a great team, but the big question is who will be the team leader for T-Mobile at the Tour? Vino, Andreas Kloden or Ullrich? Kloden proved he is a company man last year by sticking by his team leader Ullrich like the loyal lieutenant he is until it was clear Ullrich could not contest. Vino is loose canon. Amazing all around talent and isn't afraid to defy orders and take off on his own striving for his own pursuits. Team management will always have Ullrich as their first priority. He is the German's beloved, yet tarnished, champion. As a result, he is without question option #1.

Look forward to a great door. Don't forget to watch Cyclism Sundays on OLN...this week, the Tour of Flanders....we'll be bringing you a mouth full of flem...Flemish that is.

Hey Bobke, I was hoping that OLN would do another series of the Lance Chronicles. Guess with all the speculation of whether he would do the tour or not it would have been quite a gamble to do it. I know it is very early, but who do you think is the man to challenge Armstrong this year at the tour?

Ivan Basso! With the lessened importance on TT in this year's TDF, Basso is going to be the man to beat. Especially with a strong Julich leading the way for him!

Yeah, having read a bit about Basso, I think you're right. If Armstrong comes in out of form, I think Basso may put some time on him in the first mountain stages. And this year the final time trial has some rolling hills in it which should aid Basso also.

SWEDES,

stay tuned for upcoming, but more condensed, versions of the Lance Chronicles on OLN. There was some reservation given LA’s late racing schedule, but there will definitely be some episodes. Likely to be very different from those seen last year given the revamping of his program. The first one will most likely to be airing sometime after the Tour de GA.

Speaking of which, any of you folks anywhere near the Peach State should venture over there for the best cycling event to be held on American soil April 20-24. In particular, the Dawsonville to Dahlonengha stage (plant yourself near Woody Gap where the Appalachian trail crossing is) and the climb up Brasstown Bald are the best spectator viewing stages. How often will you be able to see a 7 time TdF Champion and the high caliber of European pro racers in this country.