In an unprecedented scenario for the American, he entered the final week with both Ullrich and Vinokourov within touching distance of his crown.Then something happened ahead of the Stage 15 start in Bagnères-de-Bigorre that made Armstrong's blood boil. He told me that a year ago, Rudy Pevenage [Ullrich's directeur sportif] asked him for one of my Yellow Jerseys, and that he'd asked again at Paris. His biggest threat came from the unpredictable and erratic Mayo, a rider whom Armstrong disliked, famously describing him as a "little punk".Armstrong always knew where he stood with Ullrich, a cargo ship of a rider who relied on buckets of coal, brute force, and those trademark metronomic surges in the big ring. "For his part, Armstrong felt Ullrich had gone way too early, what with there being more than 40km remaining, including the long descent and final climb. So, he kept his rival dangling, revelling in the idea that Ullrich might be digging his own grave. "Meanwhile, the drama was far from over. The Yellow Jersey of Lance Armstrong, the Euskaltel orange of Iban Mayo, the celeste Bianchi blue of Jan Ullrich, the electric pink of Alexandre Vinokourov's Team Telekom: even the vibrant colours of the 2003 Tour de France, the 100th anniversary edition played out during a fierce European heatwave, set the race apart.Before it became a mere asterisk, the American's record-equalling fifth Tour triumph was a race for the ages. It's been a very odd, crisis-filled Tour. "I had two weeks between the Dauphiné and the Tour. This was followed by two transitional stages ahead of the 49km time trial from Pornic to Nantes.After three weeks of stifling heat, the heavens opened for the race against the clock. I wish I could have some uneventful days.”Ullrich said he won’t stop fighting for the victory and has the confidence of knowing that he beat Armstrong in the first time trial. Postal, and Aitor Garmendia of Bianchi catching back to a group of that was 17 strong as the final climb to Luz-Ardiden began.Ullrich was getting no help from behind, as Basso, Mayo and Zubeldia sat on the German’s wheel. Like & save favorites, and get a personalized homepage.Like & save favorites, and get a personalized homepage.The closest race in Tour de France history is close no more.Lance Armstrong shook off a dramatic crash less than 10km from the finish at Luz-Ardiden when his handlebar hooked a fan’s bag to win his first stage of the 2003 Tour and widen his grip on the yellow jersey to a more comfortable 1:07 over second-placed Jan Ullrich (Bianchi).The 159.5km stage 15 started with three riders within 18 seconds of each other, the closest-ever margin at this stage of the Tour, but it ended with Armstrong padding his lead. Door op 'Ja, ik accepteer cookies' te klikken, gaat u akkoord met de verstrekking van uw (persoons)gegevens aan Sanoma en Telegraaf Media Groep voor de totstandkoming van de gezamenlijke groepsprofielen. A few metres further back, he just had enough time to veer dramatically to his left, avoiding his sprawling rivals by a whisker – showing the same dexterous reactions as Armstrong had a week earlier to avoid Beloki.
There was, after all, honour among thieves.
If he can repeat that performance in Nantes, Ullrich could move ahead of Armstrong, said Rudy Pevenage, sport director of Bianchi.“I pushed Jan hard today to stay as close as he could to not lose too much time,” Pevenage said. If Johan [Bruyneel] had seen me go like that, he'd have shouted: 'What do you think you're doing? "It got worse. A soigneur wrapped a towel around him and he was pushed toward the podium.
Jan ULLRICH/GER - Team Bianchi -, Lance ARMSTRONG/USA - US Postal -, 3. Ullrich pedaled on ahead with Tyler Hamilton (CSC), Ivan Basso (Fassa Bortolo), Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel) and Christophe Moreau (Crédit Agricole). Armstrong, at least initially, was appreciative of his rival's reaction, saying it was "the gesture of a gentleman". His Yellow Jersey scuffed and his bloody elbow grazed, the Texan's face was a picture of angry determination.
But the 31-year-old never disguised how much the 100th anniversary edition of the race had taken out of him, openly admitting to being vulnerable and pushed all the way by Ullrich. It was nice to catch my breath. Armstrong had just shot by the attacking Iban Mayo (Euskaltel) and drifted to the right side of the road when a fan’s yellow musette hooked the right side of Armstrong’s handlebars.Gasps went out as the American was thrown hard on his left shoulder. Halgand was dropped before the day’s first points sprint and Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) jumped out to grab the third-place points behind Chavanel and Botero.Baden Cooke (Fdjeux.com) retained his hold on the green jersey, just eight points ahead of defending champion Robbie McEwen (Lotto) while Hushovd moved into third at 14 points behind McEwen. De instellingen van uw browser of toestel laten niet toe dat cookies worden opgeslagen. The next day, at the ski resort of Ax 3 Domaines on the first stage in the Pyrenees, Armstrong lost another seven seconds – and 12 bonus seconds – to Ullrich, who now trailed the Yellow Jersey by just 15 seconds. Cookies van onszelf en van derden kunnen worden gebruikt om advertenties te tonen en artikelen aan te bevelen op de websites en apps van DPG Media die aansluiten op uw interesses. "I was too close to the side, which I had a tendency to do," Armstrong later told Moore. “Today was up and down, suspenseful day. But that was the responsibility of his directeur sportif in the car. But when I heard that it was Armstrong leading the chase behind, well, four minutes disappears fast.