"I was shocked myself when I was suddenly alone in front" - Jan Ullrich recalls iconic 1997 Tour mountain raid
Cycling
Jan Ullrich's most iconic moment came at the 1997 Tour de France, which he later went on to win. But the German runner-up from previous edition wasn't the headline favourite for overall victory, starting as a Telekom teammate of winner from 1996, Bjarne Riis. A role he followed loyally until tenth stage to Arcalis when it became clear Ullrich was cut above the rest and seized control of the race.
"You never forget that. I rose like a phoenix from the ashes," said Ullrich in the Velo Club, referring to his historic moment up to Andorra, with which he laid the foundation for his overall victory in the Grand Loop - the only one to date by a German professional cyclist in the long history of the Tour.
Surprisingly, the 51-year-old Ullrich admits that he was not even his team's first choice going into the race: "I was not in yellow, I was the helper. I also rode into the mountain and set the pace for Bjarne (Riis, editor's note). Then I was shocked myself when I was suddenly alone in front," explained Ullrich.
He continued the high pace and took yellow in the finish to not give it again until Paris. "That was unique," said Ullrich, who won the 1997 Tour with a whopping lead of 9:09 minutes ahead of second-placed Richard Virenque and 14:03 minutes ahead of third-placed Marco Pantani. The Italian went on to later win the 1998 edition, the last before Lance Armstrong era.
At the same time, "Ulle" emphasized in the podcast that he had not known the climb up to Andorra-Arcalis at all. He only knew that the mountain was "very, very difficult - and it was."
After his attack, he was "terrified" that his competitors might still fly up behind him. The TV images tell a different story. Ullrich ride as if he were from another planet.
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