Ullrich confident he can take Tour
Germany‘s Jan Ullrich is confident he can still win his second Tour de France and deny Lance Armstrong a record-equalling fifth in what is proving one of the closest ever editions of the 100-year-old cycle race.
Ullrich, Armstrong and the other 149 survivors of a peloton that numbered 198 at the start of the race were on Tuesday enjoying their second and final rest day as they were transported to Pau where tomorrow’s final mountain stage gets underway.
The momentum is back in favour of the 31-year-old Texan whose brilliant victory at Luz-Lardiden in yesterday’s 15th stage has given him a 1min 07sec advantage over the 29-year-old from Rostock in former East Germany.
Armstrong had started the day just 15 seconds ahead of Ullrich and 18 ahead of Alexander Vinokourov of Kazakhstan but by the end of the stage had eclipsed both men with the Kazakh rider now 2:45 adrift and needing to produce something extraordinary if he is to prevail.
However, Ullrich believes that, unless the Texan can extend his lead, that 1:07 might not be enough ahead of Saturday‘s time-trial on the penultimate day of the race.
“The Tour is not over yet,” said Ullrich who in addition to his Tour win in 1997 when Armstrong was fighting for his life against the ravages of cancer has also finished runner-up four times, twice to the Texan and once apiece to Denmark‘s Bjarne Riis (1996) and Marco Pantani of Italy (1998).
“Lance is certainly worried that his lead is not big enough. I really fought today but it was not enough.
“However, on previous Tours on mountain stages Lance has taken two minutes off me and this time I only conceded one which is not so bad. I am just disappointed I did not come second and get more bonus points.”
Ullrich finished third in the 15th stage behind the Texan and second-placed Iban Mayo of Spain.
The German had no regrets over not taking advantage of Armstrong‘s fall when he collided with a spectator as he stuck to the peloton‘s code of honour which allows a rider time to re-join the race after a fall.
“I have never attacked someone who has fallen,” said Ullrich. “That‘s not the way I race. Now I must think about Wednesday‘s final mountain stage and then on Saturday there is the time-trial and I am very confident about that.”
Armstrong may yet try and increase the gap on Ullrich who took 1 minute and 36 seconds off him in last Friday‘s 12th stage time-trial over 47km.
Saturday‘s time-trial between Pornic and Nantes is over 49km and – unless Armstrong has extended his lead in the meantime – a repeat of that result would see Ullrich snatch the leader‘s yellow jersey ahead of the final stage.
That would leave Armstrong needing to repeat the performance of his boyhood idol and fellow American Greg Lemond who snatched victory on the Champs Elysees in the closest Tour ever in 1989 when he came from behind on the last day to edge France‘s Laurent Fignon by eight seconds.
