Time’s running out
GRENOBLE, France – Jan Ullrich slammed headfirst into the back of a team car the day before the start of the Tour de France, cutting his neck close to the jugular vein.
He arrived at the starting line for the opening-day time trial visibly shaken, and lost 66 seconds to six-time defending champion Lance Armstrong. Ullrich then slowly crept back to form, but in Sunday’s ninth stage he fell off his bike again, damaging his rib cage.
In his final chance to dethrone Armstrong, the 1997 champion entered this year’s Tour leaner and fitter than recent years. But Ullrich, the man who had been considered Armstrong’s chief rival this year, has had awful luck so far.
“I’m in pain of course, but tomorrow I’ll get better,” the 31-year-old Ullrich said Monday at the T-Mobile team hotel. “I’ve had bad luck, but I’ve also been very lucky. I’ve fallen twice but I didn’t break anything.
“I went to a hospital because I was afraid something was broken,” he added. “But I’m glad it’s not. My legs feel very good and I know I can compete as long as my body is in shape. The fact I’m still in the race means I can withstand the pain.”
Ullrich finished runner-up to Bjarne Riis in his debut in 1996 – the year Armstrong abandoned the Tour mid-race, marking the only time Ullrich has beaten Armstrong head-to-head in the Tour.
In 1997, Ullrich easily beat Frenchman Richard Virenque by more than 9 minutes to win the Tour. In 1998, he placed second to climbing great Marco Pantani. Armstrong missed those races while recovering from testicular cancer.
Since then, Ullrich has been in Armstrong’s shadow.
He finished second to the American in 2000, 2001 and 2003, and the muscular German was fourth last year – the only time he has finished a Tour worse than second place.
Ullrich makes racing look effortless when he’s on form. When he’s not, observers mention his weight and question his desire.
Ullrich never has abandoned the Tour, but he didn’t take part in 1999 because of a knee injury and sat out again in 2002.
In 2003, he returned from a 14-month break that included two knee operations and a doping ban after testing positive for amphetamines. That summer he pushed Armstrong all the way – losing by 61 seconds overall after crashing on a wet road in the second time trial.
Ullrich’s latest setback comes at a bad time, with today’s first of three Alpine stages up to the ski resort of Courchevel likely to test his aching body.
“I’m a bit tense,” Ullrich said. “I don’t know if my body will respond and it’s the first big climb of the Tour. Everybody will be looking at Lance Armstrong at Courchevel. He’s still the strongest.”
Tuesday’s mountain trek covers 119.6 miles and features two category 1 climbs, the second of which is an uphill finish to the ski resort of Courchevel — 13.8 miles at a 6.2 percent grade.