Ullrich wants Armstrong at Tour
German rider Jan Ullrich has reacted angrily to criticism from American rival Lance Armstrong that he does not train hard enough and vowed to push the six-time winner in next year's Tour de France.
Armstrong claimed T-Mobile rider Ullrich, 30, had become too lazy in training and that was the reason for his below-par performances over the past 12 months.
"Lance does not know me at all," countered Ullrich, who finished a disappointing fourth in this year's Tour. "This comment is probably due to his American mentality. He has no idea how hard I train. I am ambitious and devoted otherwise I would not have reached the top of this sport."
Ullrich won the Tour de France in 1997 and has finished second five times. His fourth-place finish in 2004 is his worst-ever performance in the Tour. Olympic road race champion in 2000, Ullrich has once again set winning the Tour de France as his main target and is keen for his nemesis Armstrong to be there.
"I am not going to say I will win the Tour but that target still keeps me going," said Ullrich, attending the T-Mobile presentation in The Hague in the Netherlands on Monday. "I want to beat the best in the world at the biggest races. I believe Lance will be there at the start line."
Armstrong had hinted that he might sit out the 2005 Tour after lifting his sixth title.
Team T-Mobile - 2005
Eric Baumann (G)
Giuseppe Guerini (I)
Serguei Ivanov (RUS)
Torsten Hiekmann (G)
Serguei Yakovlev (Kz)
Matthias Kessler (G)
Andreas Klier (G)
Andreas Klöden (G)
Tomas Konecny (Cz)
Andre Korff (G)
Daniele Nardello (I)
Olaf Pollack (G)
Jan Schaffrath (G)
Stephan Schreck (G)
Bram Schmitz (Nl)
Tobias Steinhauser (G)
Jan Ullrich (G)
Christian Werner (G)
Steffen Wesemann (G)
Alexander Vinokurov (KZK)
Erik Zabel (G)
German rider Jan Ullrich has reacted angrily to criticism from American rival Lance Armstrong that he does not train hard enough and vowed to push the six-time winner in next year's Tour de France.
Armstrong claimed T-Mobile rider Ullrich, 30, had become too lazy in training and that was the reason for his below-par performances over the past 12 months.
"Lance does not know me at all," countered Ullrich, who finished a disappointing fourth in this year's Tour. "This comment is probably due to his American mentality. He has no idea how hard I train. I am ambitious and devoted otherwise I would not have reached the top of this sport."
Ullrich won the Tour de France in 1997 and has finished second five times. His fourth-place finish in 2004 is his worst-ever performance in the Tour. Olympic road race champion in 2000, Ullrich has once again set winning the Tour de France as his main target and is keen for his nemesis Armstrong to be there.
"I am not going to say I will win the Tour but that target still keeps me going," said Ullrich, attending the T-Mobile presentation in The Hague in the Netherlands on Monday. "I want to beat the best in the world at the biggest races. I believe Lance will be there at the start line."
Armstrong had hinted that he might sit out the 2005 Tour after lifting his sixth title.
Team T-Mobile - 2005
Eric Baumann (G)
Giuseppe Guerini (I)
Serguei Ivanov (RUS)
Torsten Hiekmann (G)
Serguei Yakovlev (Kz)
Matthias Kessler (G)
Andreas Klier (G)
Andreas Klöden (G)
Tomas Konecny (Cz)
Andre Korff (G)
Daniele Nardello (I)
Olaf Pollack (G)
Jan Schaffrath (G)
Stephan Schreck (G)
Bram Schmitz (Nl)
Tobias Steinhauser (G)
Jan Ullrich (G)
Christian Werner (G)
Steffen Wesemann (G)
Alexander Vinokurov (KZK)
Erik Zabel (G)
