Catwonsports: end of an era

Monday, February 26, 2007

At 2:21 PM, marscat said...: yes, but can we still go to Paris?
At 3:58 PM, ~ lauren said...: i love jan. he's like a little diesel engine.

i feel so unfulfilled now that he's leaving.
At 6:55 PM, Anonymous said...: I will miss him...definitely!
At 8:38 PM, Velo Bella said...: He never seemed happy as a racer....maybe now he can be
At 7:38 AM, marscat said...: i agree with VB...i think he's gonna start really enjoying himself now.
At 9:11 AM, PAB(a.k.a.CID) said...: sooooo, who's gonna get second place now?

;)
At 9:23 AM, PAB(a.k.a.CID) said...: in seriousness...

at that level, like in all professional sports, i think at some point the excitement wears off and to some extent it all becomes "just a job".

There are times when, like in most peoples' lives, the riders enjoy their jobs more than others. The lifestyle of train, suffer, travel, suffer some more..it has got to get old, with only brief times of thrill and joy from competition.

I think I see it in pro athletes in other sports a lot. The thrill that got them into their sport in the first place has been beaten out of them by the business side of pro sports, and by the 'job' aspect of it all.

I think after winning the tour at a young age, the biggest possible thrill had already happened for this guy. Not that he didn't compete hard, he still had that instict to compete, but.... Like VB said, he never seemed like a happy guy...