Three Lance in France

• Share

(2 of 2)

The other trick was to break Ullrich's spirit with a blend of cockiness and cordiality. During the team time trials, a race day when you hit the road with your own guys, Ullrich's Telekom teammate Erik Zabel got a flat, and the squad abandoned him. When U.S. Postal teammates Heras and Christian Vande Velde crashed, Armstrong waited for his fallen comrades. The day after Alpe d'Huez, Ullrich slipped into a ditch. Armstrong waited for him too to come back. As soon as Ullrich caught up, Armstrong took off, leaving him far behind again and winning the day. Armstrong killed him with kindness.

"I don't know what else I have to do," Ullrich stammered after the Alpe d'Huez stage. A few days later, settling for second in the tour for the fifth time, Ullrich added, "In the future, I can only hope that Lance is a little weaker, and I am a little stronger." That, and that his shocked face isn't in too sharp focus in the background of the Armstrong poster.