Pubdate: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2003 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Author: Samuel Abt AS THE MONEY TALKS, A BARRED VETERAN JUST LISTENS PARIS, Jan. 11 - There's no rush to choose a new team, Jan Ullrich keeps saying, even though training camps are being held everywhere and the first races of the new bicycle season are just weeks away. The Tour Down Under begins Jan. 21 in Australia, followed by the start of the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia and the Tour of Qatar, both on Jan. 31. Secondary races all, they offer riders a chance to put some kilometers in their legs in racing conditions, under a hot sun, not the sleet and cold that mark the early European races. A nice opportunity, then, for somebody like Ullrich, who has not competed for nearly a year, to prepare for the long season ahead, especially the race he mainly cares about, the Tour de France. Ullrich, 29, of Germany, has recorded one first place there, in 1997, and four seconds, in 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2001. But he is right about there being no rush. He is barred from racing until March 23. That was a result of his conviction last year of a drug offense. Not steroids or EPO, the sport's props for underwhelming riders, but Ecstasy, the darling of the rave crowd. He popped a tablet or two during a night on the town in June, trying, he said, to forget his many problems in 2002. These included his lost season because of two operations on his right knee, a drunken driving conviction after another night on the town, a mammoth fine for that incident and the severing from the Telekom team, the only one he has raced for in his eight seasons as a professional. Where to next? Four or five teams would dearly love to have as their leader a rider who has done so well in the Tour while winning the Vuelta a Espana, the Olympic road race, the world championship road race for amateurs and the world championship time trial. He climbs, he time trials, he wins big races and he is entering what should be his prime years. On the debit side of the ledger, though, are his weight problems - a lean off-season for him is a gain of no more than 15 pounds - his mental fragility, a weak knee and the aura of his being a problem child. Not to mention money. In one of his rare public statements this winter, Ullrich said financial realities would dictate his choice of teams. That was an allusion to his change of residence from the Black Forest in Germany - a small, simple, comfy house - to snazzier digs and lenient tax laws in Switzerland. Ullrich probably made $1.5 million with the German Telekom team, a sum that rules out such suitors as the Kelme team in Spain, where payday tends to come a couple of months late, if at all, and one or two unidentified Italian teams. Those still in the running, according to Ullrich's agent, Wolfgang Strohband, are CSC in Denmark and Coast in Germany, Telekom's somewhat negligible rival because its main riders are past their prime. "It's the only possible alternative," Strohband said of Coast, attempting to put pressure on the team that would suit Ullrich best, CSC of Denmark. On paper, that fit looks good. CSC is managed by Bjarne Riis, a friend from Telekom and the rider Ullrich helped win the 1996 Tour de France. Unlike Coast, CSC is manned by young, strong riders, including Tyler Hamilton, the American who was second in the last Giro d'Italia, who would offer the required support. The problem remains the money. CSC says it is not willing "at any price" to sign Ullrich. "It's true that we made a good offer to Jan, but apparently it was not good enough," Alex Pedersen, the team's director, said. Attempts to sign up the Deutsche Post Bank as a secondary sponsor to pay Ullrich's salary apparently succeeded, but not extravagantly enough. Late last week, German and Danish news agencies reported that Coast would win the bidding. In a decision late Friday, the sport's world governing body said it would grant Coast a license to compete in the sport's top events, clearing the way for Ullrich to join up. The financially troubled team was required to prove its cash flow was stable to get the license. The choice of teams will reveal which road Ullrich travels on: big money with Coast and a career in the shadows or less money with CSC and an opportunity to remount the peaks. "In the coming two to three years, I would like to win the races I still haven't won," Ullrich said, meaning the world championship road race, perhaps the Giro d'Italia and a major World Cup classic or two. Meanwhile, he remains surrounded by Strohband, Peter Becker, his longtime coach, and Rudy Pevenage, his guru at Telekom, who announced last week that he was leaving the German team to be at Ullrich's side wherever he goes. (That was taken to mean Coast because Pevenage, a Belgian, speaks fluent German from his years at Telekom and because CSC, unlike Coast, already has a handful of proficient coaches.) They are all skillful and well-meaning people, but enablers. What Ullrich needs most is a disciplinarian, a fusspot who will say to him: "Jan, don't eat that, eat this. Jan, don't do that, do this. Jan, don't sign there, sign here." Obstinate and, yes, spoiled, Ullrich has never had such a guide, or was never willing to listen to one as he squandered his talent. There is no reason to believe that will change so long as money is the main factor in choosing a team. He promises a decision in the next week. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D