Tour News for July 2

Ullrich determined to come back

Telekom show or no, Jan Ullrich's win in Sunday's German national championships was a sign that he is in decent shape, although we will be kept guessing for a couple of weeks as to his fitness in the mountains. He last won the Tour in 1997, and has since finished second twice in 1998 and 2000 (he didn't ride in 1999). In 1997 he was also the German national champion, and this might have been part of the plan on Sunday.

"The champion's jersey brought me luck in 1997," he said. "And I am a little superstitious."

At the moment, the rider everyone is looking to beat is two time winner Lance Armstrong, who although not winning a national champion's jersey, has recently ascended to the top spot on the UCI rankings after his win in the Tour de Suisse.

"I am not saying that I will certainly win the Tour," added Ullrich after his championship win.

In the three weeks following the Giro d'Italia, Ullrich raced (and won) one criterium, but spent most of his energy training in the Alps and the Pyrenees. In four days, he rode up 16 Cols in the mountains. "It has been going excellently in training. I hope that will also happen soon in the racing."

To win the Tour, Ullrich's team leader Rudy Pevenage has sacrificed Erik Zabel's chances of winning a sixth green jersey, by choosing a team which leaves Zabel somewhat isolated. However, if he puts his mind to it, Zabel is certainly capable of winning the green.

Pevenage believes Ullrich is fit enough. "Therefore, he needs a team that can help him ride a good general classification. Zabel understands that well, but I admit that we have made the selection a little unfair towards him."

"The time trial two days from the end of the tour will not have a big impact on the classification," said Pevenage. "Jan therefore has to do it in the mountains."

Joseba Beloki has good morale

Recent Volta a Catalunya winner, Joseba Beloki, spearheads the strongest ONCE team in years for the Tour. Beloki's third place in last year's event confirmed him as an up and coming stage race rider, and despite contractual wrangling with Festina, he is back this year and in top form.

"This win lifts my morale for the Tour de France, and will help me finish the job," he said after Catalunya. "I had set myself to arrive at the French race with a big victory. I do not consider myself to be a rival of Lance Armstrong, or Ullrich. The Tour will be an altogether different race."

Kirsipuu wants a flat Tour

Although he wasn't able to regain his Estonian champion's jersey on the weekend, Ag2r's Jaan Kirsipuu is looking forward to the tour de France with stage wins in mind. So far this year, the 31 year old has won the Route Adélie and the GP de Denain, as well as numerous stages in French races.

He joked about the Tour that "There are too many mountains! For me, the ideal would be a flat Tour de France."

"I would like to win a stage before the mountains and afterwards. Clearly, my main objective is to win a stage. My second is to finish. The final cherry on the cake would be to take the green jersey. That's a lot, but it is necessary to have ambitions."

Kirsipuu has worn the yellow jersey in the past: "To wear the yellow jersey in the Tour remains an unforgettable memory. The public is so large that every kilometre is a joy."

Kirsipuu's picks for the yellow are Ullrich ("he is very well prepared") and Armstrong ("of course, the victory will be fought between him and Armstrong."). While "Moreau has a medium chance to make the podium, but it remains to be seen how he handles the responsibilities and pressure."

Leblanc's picks

In the final week before the Tour, race director Jean-Marie Leblanc has reaffirmed his faith in his controversial wild card selections, which saw several French teams push aside more fancied first division outfits.

"We have shown a strong sign with French cycling by marking out confidence. I believe that the results of the races that are currently taking place give us the justification. With the approach of the Tour, French teams such as Bonjour, La Francaise des Jeux and Crédit Agricole have become operational. I have a firm hope that some riders from these teams, particularly the younger ones, will reveal themselves during the Tour. I am certain that if they win a stage or take the yellow jersey then the public will adopt them."

"Moreau can aim at the podium...He is currently in great form. He has confidence. He lives on his fourth place from last year, which showed him that he could do better, and one can hope to see him mount the podium."

Leblanc's dream is that the Tour "is an animated race which is not dominated too much by Armstrong or someone else. A race where the French will highlight themselves. I dream of a Tour that is free from doping affairs, so that the millions of people who will be at the side of the road can justify the confidence and even the love that they continue to have with cycling and the Tour de France."

De Groot to start with Rabobank

Bram de Groot will be riding his first Tour as part of the Rabobank selection, which was announced today by director Theo de Rooij. The team consists of Michael Boogerd (Ned), Erik Dekker (Ned), Maarten den Bakker (Ned), Steven de Jongh (Ned), Bram de Groot (Ned), Marc Lotz (Ned), Grischa Niermann (Ger), Gert Verheyen (Bel), Marc Wauters (Bel).

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Pretot substitutes for Hernandez

Festina has changed its Tour line up slightly to include Arnaud Prétot, 3rd in the French championships. He will take the place of Spaniard Jaime Hernandez.

"It is, certainly, due to Arnaud's performance in Argenton, as well as the fact that Jaime is not as well as possible," said Yvon Sanquer. "But, Carlos Da Cruz could have also profited from this replacement."

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Stage wins by country

France leads the way with the number of stage wins in the Tour de France with 648, followed by Belgium (444), and Italy (235). In fourth position is the Netherlands with 147. The first Dutch win was in 1936 by Theo Middelkamp, and the last was in 2000 on July 19 by Erik Dekker (his third of the Tour).

Three riders, Gerrie Knetemann, Jan Raas and Joop Zoetemelk, have won 10 stages each, while Jean-Paul van Poppel has nine wins. Belgian Eddy Merckx holds the record with 34 Tour stage wins.

Dutch stage winners ranking

1 Joop Zoetemelk, Gerrie Knetemann and Jan Raas (10)
4 Jean-Paul van Poppel (9)
5 Jan Janssen (7)
6 Gerben Karstens, Jelle Nijdam (6)
8 Jeroen Blijlevens, Erik Breukink, Wout Wagtmans (4)
11 Erik Dekker, Wim van Est, Hennie Kuiper, Henk Lubberding, Bert Oosterbosch, Jo de Roo, Johan van der Velde, Rini Wagtmans, Peter Winnen (3)
20 Leon van Bon, Theo Middelkamp, Jan Nolten, Henk Nijdam, Adri van der Poel, Cees Priem, Steven Rooks, Antoon van Schendel, Theo Smit, Gerrit Solleveld, Gerrit Voorting, Ad Wijnands (2)
32 Michael Boogerd, Hans Dekkers, Maarten Ducrot, Leo Duyndam, Cees van Espen, Henk Faanhof, Daan de Groot, Rob Harmeling, Matthieu Hermans, Fedor den Hertog, Jos Hinsen, Adri van Houwelingen, Jan Krekels, Johan Lammerts, Jo Maas, Frans Maassen, Henri Manders, Frits Pirard, Henk Poppe, Gerrit Schulte, Gert-Jan Theunisse, Nico Verhoeven, Gerard Vianen, Leo van Vliet, Bart Voskamp, Huub Zilverberg (1)

Dutch placings in Le Tour

Dutch riders have finished in the top 3 of the Tour de France a total of 15 times in the race's history, with two of them (Jan Janssen and Joop Zoetemelk) winning it overall. In addition to his win in 1980, Zoetemelk finished second a total of six times, making him the most successful Tour de France GC rider from the Netherlands.

Dutch GC placings

Jan Janssen: 2nd 1966, 1st 1968
Joop Zoetemelk: 2nd 1970, 2nd 1971, 2nd 1976, 2nd 1978, 2nd 1979, 1st 1980, 2nd 1982
Hennie Kuiper: 2nd 1977, 2nd 1980
Johan van der Velde: 3rd 1982
Peter Winnen: 3rd 1983
Steven Rooks: 2nd 1988
Erik Breukink: 3rd 1990

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