Rivals Ullrich, Mayo and Hamilton fail again

PARIS (AP) -- They came in numbers to conquer Lance Armstrong _ but all failed.

By the time Armstrong powered to a record-breaking sixth Tour de France title Sunday, his chief adversaries -- Jan Ullrich, Iban Mayo and Tyler Hamilton -- had fallen hopelessly behind or dropped out.

Armstrong was expecting a sterner test this year. Instead, he dominated the Tour with ruthlessness and panache.

"I was surprised that some of the rivals were not better," Armstrong said. "Some of them just completely disappeared."

Having labored to narrowly win the Tour by just 61 seconds over Ullrich in 2003, Armstrong's grip looked like it was finally loosening after years of utter domination. Ahead of this year's Tour, some thought Ullrich -- a five-time Tour runner-up -- might finally stand atop the podium.

But the muscular German started the opening Prologue badly, conceding a psychologically crucial 15 seconds to Armstrong. Things just went downhill from there.

Following the team time trial, won by Armstrong's U.S. Postals, the deficit increased to 55 seconds. After two climbs in the Pyrenees mountains, Ullrich was cooked: 6 minutes, 39 seconds behind.

T-Mobile team manager Walter Godefroot publicly scolded Ullrich in an interview with sports daily L'Equipe, complaining that his star cyclist had not even bothered to show up when engineers were testing out bikes.

"We knew Jan would not win the Tour," Godefroot told L'Equipe. "I'd be lying if I said I was happy by Ullrich's performance."

Ullrich finished the Tour fourth overall, 8:50 behind Armstrong.

What's the Texan's secret?

"The answer is hard work," Armstrong said. "What are you doing on Christmas Day? Are you riding your bike? January 1st -- are you riding your bike? Six weeks before the Tour de France, are you ten kilos overweight? No, you're getting ready."

Mayo crashed early on, hitting the pavement in the Tour's rain-soaked, nerve-wracked first week. The Spaniard finally abandoned the race after the Pyrenees, physically and mentally shot after two disappointing rides in the mountains where he'd hoped to win in front of Basque fans.

Hamilton -- a former teammate of Armstrong's who finished fourth last year despite collarbone fractures -- again suffered bad luck. He was forced to abandon the race July 17 with severe bruising to his lower back, sustained in stage six when he fell onto the pedal of another bike.

Another of Armstrong's former teammates, the Spaniard Roberto Heras, had hoped to challenge after leaving the Postals to join Liberty Seguros. But he withdrew July 22 after suffering in the Alps, even though he'd been Armstrong's best mountain ally during a three-year stint with Postal.

Armstrong said Heras' replacement in the team, Portuguese rider Jose Azevedo, was excellent.

"Azevedo truly fits in this team," Armstrong said. "Roberto was always apart, always quiet. I don't think he ever understood the mentality of this team."

Armstrong says the Tour would have been more exciting with flamboyant Kazak rider Alexander Vinokourov and Spaniard Joseba Beloki on board. Both had attacked Armstrong relentlessly in the Alps last year -- pushing him to the brink.

Beloki, a Tour de France runner-up to Lance Armstrong in 2002, parted ways with his French team and did not ride the Tour this year. His contract did not allow him to sign with another team in time for the Tour.

Vinokourov, third last year, fell and injured himself on a rainy day during June's Tour of Switzerland. He had been recruited to Ullrich's T-Mobile team. They were expected to form a multi-pronged attack on Armstrong, along with Andreas Kloden -- who turned out to be the surprise of the Tour by finishing second overall to Armstrong.

"So, you consider they (T-Mobile) could potentially have had Ullrich, Kloden and Vino (Vinokourov)," Armstrong said. "It would have been scarier for us."

(jp-ps)