# Ullrich to Disco??...MsNBC



## EndoMadness (Jul 14, 2005)

MSNBC News Services
Updated: 12 minutes ago

Jan Ullrich, who was excluded from the Tour de France after being linked to the drug scandal that took out several other cyclists, is in talks with Discovery Channel to join Lance Armstrong's former team, the Swiss newspaper Blick reported Tuesday.

Ullrich, 32, won the Tour in 1997 and finished second four other times. He was dismissed from the T-Mobile team last week.

"I have always said I will finish with a Tour victory," Ullrich said. "Unfortunately, this year I was prevented from doing so. That's why I will try to add another year.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14026397/


----------



## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

Hmmmmm.... media reports have been linking Ullrich and Basso to Disco. It does make me wonder just little about what are the real stories is behind these stories. I don't think they have legs... the stories that is.


----------



## zosocane (Aug 29, 2004)

It wouldn't surprise me if either Basso or Ullrich signed with Disco. Lance is desperate to find a true TdF GC leader for the team who will get at least on the podium, if not win it. I think Levi (and Tommy D) is their plan B.


----------



## erol/frost (May 30, 2004)

Ullrich in Disco-clothes? My brain wouldn`t comprehend that if i would see him race in that outfit... =) 

Der Diesel is and was a T-Mobile man


----------



## goose127 (Jun 9, 2004)

I think both of these guys are cooked. it will never happen.


----------



## tom_o (May 6, 2004)

Will Disco teach Jan how to climb standing? 

Also, with all the 'buying the biggest names' in the sport, is Disco starting to look like another US sports franchise to anyone else?


----------



## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

erol/frost said:


> Der Diesel is and was a T-Mobile man


Maybe he is and was, but now he is a has been.


----------



## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

Paul : "I don't understand T-mobile's tacitcs at all. They've sent Jan Ullrich to chase down their own man!"

Phil : "Actually Paul, Jan is on the Discovery Channel team this year. That's him alongside Egoi Hernandez,"

Paul : "That's right Phil, it's easy to forget that Jan Ullrich is now on the team of Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong always had a great deal of respect for his former rival you know, and Lance ArmstrongLance ArmstrongLance ArmstrongLance ArmstrongLance ArmstrongLance Armstrong"


----------



## Live Steam (Feb 4, 2004)

Every team 'buys' riders. That isn't exclusive to Disco. If this happens, I called it when he was released two weeks ago


----------



## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

also: 

http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/tour-de-france/2006/sport_sto931871.shtml




EndoMadness said:


> MSNBC News Services
> Updated: 12 minutes ago
> 
> Jan Ullrich, who was excluded from the Tour de France after being linked to the drug scandal that took out several other cyclists, is in talks with Discovery Channel to join Lance Armstrong's former team, the Swiss newspaper Blick reported Tuesday.
> ...


----------



## philq76 (Jul 11, 2005)

*Huh*



Argentius said:


> Paul : "I don't understand T-mobile's tacitcs at all. They've sent Jan Ullrich to chase down their own man!"
> 
> Phil : "Actually Paul, Jan is on the Discovery Channel team this year. That's him alongside Egoi Hernandez,"
> 
> Paul : "That's right Phil, it's easy to forget that Jan Ullrich is now on the team of Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong always had a great deal of respect for his former rival you know, and Lance ArmstrongLance ArmstrongLance ArmstrongLance ArmstrongLance ArmstrongLance Armstrong"


I am guessing that you are one of the Lance haters, though I can't understand why people can't appreciate the mans' accomplishments, but whatever. And if you are going to make fun, you might want to get the teammates names right--it Egoi Martinez is his name. Let's try to stay on topic: Ullrich going to Disco.


----------



## slamy (Mar 15, 2004)

I'm sure Discovery will offer Ullrich and or Basso a contract contingent that they are not suspended. It makes total sense. You offer Ullrich a contract contingent upon him being cleared; if he is, he's happy that you stood by him and beleived in him and now Discovery just got one of the biggest names in the sport at a discount rate.


----------



## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

If he is confident he'll be cleared, why would he discount his rate?


----------



## Guest (Jul 25, 2006)

Maybe because he is out of work, ATM. Then again, maybe not


----------



## Einstruzende (Jun 1, 2004)

Basso is under contract and hasn't been fired from CSC. So I imagine as long as he can "clear" his name he stays with CSC.

Ullrich had a contract, and was fired. If that sticks, he still has to "clear" his name. I get the feeling the evidence against Jan is much more complete, so I suspect ultimately we have seen Jan ride his final race.


----------



## The Armagh (Apr 23, 2006)

Einstruzende said:


> Basso is under contract and hasn't been fired from CSC. So I imagine as long as he can "clear" his name he stays with CSC.
> 
> Ullrich had a contract, and was fired. If that sticks, he still has to "clear" his name. I get the feeling the evidence against Jan is much more complete, so I suspect ultimately we have seen Jan ride his final race.


If the evidence is much more complete, why would Disco offer - or even make overtures? According to ESPN he is still discussing the issue with TMobile, which is funny. Is this the second time Ullrich has been ditched? Where's the love? For me, it would be an interesting exercise to cheer for Ullrich after all these years of going against him. 

Is it official that Landis re-signs with iShares, or no?


----------



## Alpedhuez55 (Jun 29, 2005)

Well, I hope they questioned him about his alleged doping plan for last years tour:



> http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2006/jul06/jul14news3
> 
> Ullrich's alleged doping plan
> 
> ...


I am sorry, but if Discovery is sending the wrong message here. Maybe they should be waiting a bit before the consider signing Jan. Give him a little time to defend himself against the Spanish accusations and the Sporting Fraud case against him in Germany. 

They already have a couple of their high profile former riders (Herras & Hamilton) who are implicated in Operation Puerto. Did they start doping after they left Postal? Maybe there is more to Lance's colaberation with Dr. Ferarri than he wants us to beleive. Is Postal/Disco completely clean or do their Doctor's better at using their shredders? 

Signing Basso or Ullrich at this time is wrong. Their team is clean to this point. Lets see if they can keep it that way.


----------



## crazylabrador (Sep 24, 2005)

*good news for jan*

let me start first by saying that i think all riders dope... the sport is just to hard.
jan got screwed with t-mobile. discovery has alot of money, and thus a lot of technology 
is at their disposal to avoid their riders getting caught (lool at lance, honcapie etc....)
this would be a good move for jan, i hope these rumours are all true.


----------



## bonkmiester (Sep 23, 2005)

Believe the Press ?????

.....................................

the mainstream press (French, American, Italian or German) have been getting it wrong on all these stories since Puerto broke......they contradict themselves every other day.........and when there is nothin new to say, they recompile old news with their own spin on it (LA times).....
the german news papers quoted her are just rags, and shame on the "cycling news" outfits for reporting it as if it had any merit whatsoever.............
the truth will come out eventually, about Puerto adn about this "job offer"...........
b0nk


----------



## jeffreyg (Nov 23, 2005)

erol/frost said:


> Ullrich in Disco-clothes? My brain wouldn`t comprehend that if i would see him race in that outfit... =)
> 
> Der Diesel is and was a T-Mobile man


He's not T-mobile here.


----------



## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

I don't think ALL pro cyclists dope because not all of them have to just to be domestiques. Of course, there is probably a lot of pressure from their teammates, and I do agree that Discovery has a lot of money so they can probably hire the best doping doctors out there and may even be able to bribe some Tour or UCI officials. I don't know the exact doping testing procedure, but I wouldn't doubt it if it didn't have many controls.

Now, for cycling and the rest of pro sports to start being taken seriously again, there has to be some serious doping rules and tests put in place.

As far as Discovery even talking about signing Ulrich or Basso, I think they should have waited until everything was cleared on the both of them. Now, just because Basso has a contract with CSC doesn't mean that there is absolutely no way for him to get out of it or for Discovery to buy that contract from CSC, but I would need to actually read the contract to know for sure. The fact that Discovery is even talking about signing these guys at this point makes me sick.

I keep wondering if maybe pro cycling let Lance and USPS/Discovery slide until Lance retired. The story was way too good for way too many people and it brought way too many fans to watch the Tour on television and in person. My mom has always said since I was young that pro sports are fixed. Look at the fiasco with the Italian soccer teams where refs, coaches, and players were paid for a team to lose/win. Utterly insane.


----------



## toshi (Dec 29, 2005)

The Armagh said:


> If the evidence is much more complete, why would Disco offer - or even make overtures? According to ESPN he is still discussing the issue with TMobile, which is funny. Is this the second time Ullrich has been ditched? Where's the love? For me, it would be an interesting exercise to cheer for Ullrich after all these years of going against him.
> 
> Is it official that Landis re-signs with iShares, or no?


Frankly I think a lot of this is just a PR stunt. Yes, Jan might be in casual talks with Disco, but the reality is this is very meaty stuff to reveal to the press, for all the reasons mentioned previously, irregardless of how "serious" the two parties really are at this point.

You'll recall that Lance made it a point to let everyone know that Disco would "love to have Landis back." I'll bet you some used cable housing that he knew full well that Floyd was going to re-up with iShares before he went and said this. It's just good PR. The last thing Disco wants to do is fade into the background after their (relatively) unsuccessful TDF.


----------



## cheddarlove (Oct 17, 2005)

Argentius said:


> Paul : "I don't understand T-mobile's tacitcs at all. They've sent Jan Ullrich to chase down their own man!"
> 
> Phil : "Actually Paul, Jan is on the Discovery Channel team this year. That's him alongside Egoi Hernandez,"
> 
> Paul : "That's right Phil, it's easy to forget that Jan Ullrich is now on the team of Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong always had a great deal of respect for his former rival you know, and Lance ArmstrongLance ArmstrongLance ArmstrongLance ArmstrongLance ArmstrongLance Armstrong"


 I think that's pretty funny!


----------



## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

*'06 rumors are lame*

I seem to remember much more interesting, although still just as unfounded, rumors being created past years. Now they just pick the biggest name and tag it to Disco. 
Why on earth would Disco even look at Jan? He's about past his prime. He has been in near constant trouble- weight trouble, climbing trouble, car trouble, drug trouble, etc. 
There's no way the sponsors would be comfortable gambling on his keeping out of trouble, staying fit, and challenging for the next tour.


----------



## Mdeth1313 (Nov 1, 2001)

Jesse D Smith said:


> I seem to remember much more interesting, although still just as unfounded, rumors being created past years. Now they just pick the biggest name and tag it to Disco.
> Why on earth would Disco even look at Jan? He's about past his prime. He has been in near constant trouble- weight trouble, climbing trouble, car trouble, drug trouble, etc.
> There's no way the sponsors would be comfortable gambling on his keeping out of trouble, staying fit, and challenging for the next tour.



Discovery would look at him because his whole career, Jan has called the shots-- if he's innocent and Discovery takes him, there will be a lot of conditions and Armstrong and Johan would not take any crap.
Why do you think Jan went to Team Coast and then Bianchi instead of CSC when he had the chance? Riis would have been too tough on him.

Jan is a major talent, gifted athlete w/out the drive. Lance Armstrong may be an ***hole, but that's what it takes to win 7 times.


----------



## RocketDog (Apr 9, 2005)

bonkmiester said:


> Believe the Press ?????
> 
> the german news papers quoted her are just rags, and shame on the "cycling news" outfits for reporting it as if it had any merit whatsoever.............


The Suddeutsche Zeitung is not a rag. It's one of the biggest papers in Germany. Something nearly equivalent to USA Today for you. Why do some people assume that news outlets in Europe are trash? It's not like you've ever read them (because you can't if you don't speak the language).


----------



## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

Noting that if Disco has signed Sergio Paulinho then the question follows; why not Ullrich or Basso?


----------



## ttug (May 14, 2004)

*well*



RocketDog said:


> The Suddeutsche Zeitung is not a rag. It's one of the biggest papers in Germany. Something nearly equivalent to USA Today for you. Why do some people assume that news outlets in Europe are trash? It's not like you've ever read them (because you can't if you don't speak the language).


I believe itys a bit harsh to say that the SZ is a rag, just like it takes a PHd to read the Franfurter Allgemeine blah blah blah.

They are like any newspaper as you rightly point out. You know, you can get the Suddeutsche Zeitung here is the US by subscription? I had one in Miami and it was refreshing to keep up as it were.


----------



## dagger (Jul 22, 2004)

*He's certified*



rocco said:


> Noting that if Disco has signed Sergio Paulinho then the question follows; why not Ullrich or Basso?


Got a Portuguese Certificate stating that he wasn't involved. Besides most of these guys are going to get cleared because even if you can match blood there isn't proof of a crime. You can't convict on intent alone, so without proof of a crime then how can you say 100% that a crime has been commited.


----------



## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

dagger said:


> Besides most of these guys are going to get cleared because even if you can match blood there isn't proof of a crime. You can't convict on intent alone, so without proof of a crime then how can you say 100% that a crime has been commited.


This is the direction I'm starting to go at this point. I'm starting to think this is a lot of smoke but not as big a fire as we might have been lead to believe. We'll see. If they can't prove that a crime has been commited then it will depend on the UCI's standards of proof as to whether these guys still have a career in cycling.


----------



## Spunout (Aug 12, 2002)

crazylabrador said:


> let me start first by saying that i think all riders dope... the sport is just to hard.


What a categorically false and uninformed statement.


----------



## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

Spunout said:


> What a categorically false and uninformed statement.



Crazylabrador better not say that to Arlene Landis...


----------



## daveIT (Mar 12, 2004)

The Armagh said:


> Is it official that Landis re-signs with iShares, or no?


Yes - same team just with a different title sponsor.

Montceau-les-Mines, 2006-07-22

Phonak riders extend contracts
All nine riders competing for Phonak at the Tour de France have extended their contracts with the Swiss team. Axel Merckx's contract extension (for 1 year, as already reported) was followed by those of *Floyd Landis *(1 year), Bert Grabsch, Robert Hunter, Nicolas Jalabert, Koos Moerenhout, Alexandre Moos, Victor Hugo Peña and Miguel Angel Perdiguero (2 years each). Phonak's General Team Manager John Lelangue appeared extremely pleased with the Tour de France team's decisions. "This way we can get an early start on setting the way forward for next season." 




http://www.phonak-cycling.ch/index.php?id=5&L=1&uid=307


----------



## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

dagger said:


> Got a Portuguese Certificate stating that he wasn't involved. Besides most of these guys are going to get cleared because even if you can match blood there isn't proof of a crime. You can't convict on intent alone, so without proof of a crime then how can you say 100% that a crime has been commited.


I have no idea what the laws are regarding this stuff, but I think you are applying USA-style legalities to a Spanish situation. Some European countries have sporting fraud laws, and intent (or conspiracy) to commit may be plenty enough to get a conviction. I don't think the police do those early morning raids on team hotels hoping to catch dopers in the act.


----------



## bonkmiester (Sep 23, 2005)

RocketDog said:


> The Suddeutsche Zeitung is not a rag. It's one of the biggest papers in Germany. Something nearly equivalent to USA Today for you. Why do some people assume that news outlets in Europe are trash? It's not like you've ever read them (because you can't if you don't speak the language).


 2 things: 1- USA Today IS a rag.......... BIG circulation does not = BIG credibility 2-online translators.....maybe not "perfect translations"........but enough to know if it is first person reporting, or just a write up from some wire service, that got it from some other rag........... 3-as i said, given enough time, the truth will eventyally get out....right now it's too early to tell about Jan Ullrich..........but, we did get some accurate news about Beloki today, did'nt we.........it just took a few weeks b0nk


----------



## RocketDog (Apr 9, 2005)

bonkmiester said:


> 2 things: 1- USA Today IS a rag.......... BIG circulation does not = BIG credibility 2-online translators.....maybe not "perfect translations"........but enough to know if it is first person reporting, or just a write up from some wire service, that got it from some other rag........... 3-as i said, given enough time, the truth will eventyally get out....right now it's too early to tell about Jan Ullrich..........but, we did get some accurate news about Beloki today, did'nt we.........it just took a few weeks b0nk


Bonk, it seems to me that you made the judgement before you really new if the SZ was a rag. It's the assumption that bothered me. 

I would say SZ content is roughly on par with USA Today. Generally, SZ is the first major media outlet to report on developments with Jan, rumor or not. Shame on Cyclingnews for reporting??? I don't think so. I suppose we'll know for sure in time.


----------



## bonkmiester (Sep 23, 2005)

RocketDog said:


> Bonk, it seems to me that you made the judgement before you really new if the SZ was a rag. It's the assumption that bothered me.
> 
> I would say SZ content is roughly on par with USA Today. Generally, SZ is the first major media outlet to report on developments with Jan, rumor or not. Shame on Cyclingnews for reporting??? I don't think so. I suppose we'll know for sure in time.


please excuse my formatting, my browser is not functioning properly with this site...... 

Dear RD, 

Don't assume that because I am an American that i am ignorant of European affairs....I have been keeping up with those affairs since the mid 1960s......And don't assume that I am categorically dismissive of the European press, I am not......but when I read articles in online SZ or L'Equipe (with the aid of translators) and it contains no first hand investigative reporting and is full of conjecture, well then I dismiss it as sensational and move on to find another source.......is that judgemental, yes.....correctly so, IMHO 

I call shame on the US cycling industry news providers not because they report, but because for the most part they are just parroting stories picked up from SZ, L'Equipe, LeMonde and other european sources, including the wire services.........even with their access, they are doing little to no first hand reporting.......and the original sources are doing little to no fact checking in their rush to grab headlines...... 

As we saw at the outset of the Puerto affair, statements were incorrectly attributed to various players (McQuaid and LeClerc to name a couple) only to be retracted the very next day.........And as we have seen just today, the rumors and accusations surrounding riders like Beloki at the start of the Tour were inappropriate.....so far.... 

What I am saying is that you, we, I should not form an opinion about Jan's comments vis a vis this Discovery job offers right now, based on today's stories.....regardless of the source SZ, VeloNews, USA Today, L'Equipe, etc ....wait a few days until the contradictions are worked out......

Also, a gift, so you dont rely too heavily on USA Today for your info about the US, here is a good news portal with many links.... some links are good, some are just "pop journalism"...you will sort them out. 

http://www.ceoexpress.com/default.asp 

and here is an easy to use translator, it isn't perfect, but I use it because it does so many languages, and it also translates pages as you navigate through them......

http://babelfish.altavista.com/ 

If you have similar things you can share with me, I would appreciate it....I would also appreciate it if you send me an new 66cm Canyon F10 frame  

b0nk


----------



## RocketDog (Apr 9, 2005)

Bonkster, I'm an American that spends a month or so a year in Germany (So no Canyon for you! BTW who the hell needs 66cm?). I wasn't defending USA today either. Just trying to make a fair comparison. Yes, I did wrongly judge you as strictly and unjustly submissive of the Euro press. Sorry. I think that there are too many folks that do this, though, and it bothers me. It's remarkable how different (and valuable IMHO) the perspective of the news media is in Europe.

We've had a lot of rumblings and no real proof of substance (or lack thereof). I fear that much like the Armstrong positives, we will never get enough pieces of the puzzle to make sense of any of it.


----------



## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

bonkmiester said:


> please excuse my formatting, my browser is not functioning properly with this site...... Dear RD, Don't assume that because I am an American that i am ignorant of European affairs....I have been keeping up with those affairs since the mid 1960s......And don't assume that I am categorically dismissive of the European press, I am not......but when I read articles in online SZ or L'Equipe (with the aid of translators) and it contains no first hand investigative reporting and is full of conjecture, well then I dismiss it as sensational and move on to find another source.......is that judgemental, yes.....correctly so, IMHO I call shame on the US cycling industry news providers not because they report, but because for the most part they are just parroting stories picked up from SZ, L'Equipe, LeMonde and other european sources, including the wire services.........even with their access, they are doing little to no first hand reporting.......and the original sources are doing little to no fact checking in their rush to grab headlines...... As we saw at the outset of the Puerto affair, statements were incorrectly attributed to various players (McQuaid and LeClerc to name a couple) only to be retracted the very next day.........And as we have seen just today, the rumors and accusations surrounding riders like Beloki at the start of the Tour were inappropriate.....so far.... What I am saying is that you, we, I should not form an opinion about Jan's comments vis a vis this Discovery job offers right now, based on today's stories.....regardless of the source SZ, VeloNews, USA Today, L'Equipe, etc ....wait a few days until the contradictions are worked out...... Also, a gift, so you dont rely too heavily on USA Today for your info about the US, here is a good news portal with many links.... some links are good, some are just "pop journalism"...you will sort them out. http://www.ceoexpress.com/default.asp and here is an easy to use translator, it isn't perfect, but I use it because it does so many languages, and it also translates pages as you navigate through them...... http://babelfish.altavista.com/ If you have similar things you can share with me, I would appreciate it....I would also appreciate it if you send me an new 66cm Canyon F10 frame  b0nk



I guess your not getting the VXRS then...  I think the Canyon would probably be better for person of your height anyway.


----------



## Sintesi (Nov 13, 2001)

jeffreyg said:


> He's not T-mobile here.


My god look at those legs. I propose we exhonerate him immediately on muscle definition alone. Those are the toned thighs of a Tour winner!


----------



## Alpedhuez55 (Jun 29, 2005)

Mdeth1313 said:


> Discovery would look at him because his whole career, Jan has called the shots-- if he's innocent and Discovery takes him, there will be a lot of conditions and Armstrong and Johan would not take any crap.
> Why do you think Jan went to Team Coast and then Bianchi instead of CSC when he had the chance? Riis would have been too tough on him.
> 
> Jan is a major talent, gifted athlete w/out the drive. Lance Armstrong may be an ***hole, but that's what it takes to win 7 times.


Coast was a pure money move fore Ullrich. They offered him a more than CSC and folded shortly after he went with them. Riis made him a final offer and he used Coast to try to get a better contract from CSC. 

CSC would have been the best fit for him. He was very close to Riis when they rode together on T-Mobile. Riis knows Jan better than anyone and I do not think he would have been to hard on him. CSC was a much stronger team than Coast or Bianchi. And it would have been his team for the tour with Sastre, Voight and Hamilton riding support for him. Could that team have been good enough for a couple of minutes in the 2003 tour? WHo knows?

Love him or hate him, Riis has brought on some great results from a lot of riders. He helped revive Jalabert, Vandevelde & Jullich careers. Sure there are a couple of riders like Bartoli who did not work out for him. He develops a strong team and produces good results for the whole season, not just in July.


----------



## jason_haza (May 1, 2006)

*USA is actually trash too*



RocketDog said:


> The Suddeutsche Zeitung is not a rag. It's one of the biggest papers in Germany. Something nearly equivalent to USA Today for you.



USA Today is the 'TODAY' show of papers. The Suddeutsche Zeitung is probably a decent paper....but comparing it to USA Today sorta drags it down...I'm just sayin.


----------

