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John Whitney takes a plane-free trip to Germany's Black Forest region to experience pro legend Jan Ullrich's old training ground

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It's very atmospheric cycling in the forest

The impetus to ride in Germany's Black Forest came indirectly from a man who called this region home for the early part of his career: Jan Ullrich. The German, a one-time winner (1997) of the world's biggest bike race, the Tour de France, before a doping-related fall from grace, was the subject of journalist Daniel Friebe's latest book, Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was, and evocative descriptions of Ullrich's punishing training regime in this region certainly gave this reader an urge to experience the same roads.

They were punishing rides for Ullrich, not just because of the always hilly, often mountainous terrain that was available from his doorstep in the village of Merdingen but because of how, when focused, he would seemingly punish himself on them. In accounts from the book, Ullrich could be the best of trainers and the worst of trainers, and the hard rides, when he scattered his ride partners to the four winds, would be something of a penance for the times when those same ride partners would show up at the agreed start time for their ride and he hadn't even got out of bed.

We had been hopeful of having Ullrich join us for a tour of his old training roads, but he was called away on other business at the last minute and instead we had an email exchange. That ride, a loop through the neighbouring Kaiserstuhl hills, from Frieburg im Breisgau, through Merdingen, vineyards and up iconic regional climb Auf dem Eck - Texaspass, so nicknamed for the stifling summer heat reminiscent of the southern US state, will feature in a Big Ride later in 2023.