Ullrich eats into Armstrong lead

Jan Ullrich of Germany made further inroads into the overall leadership of Lance Armstrong in a centenary Tour de France which is shaping up to be one of the closest in history.

Ullrich had taken a minute and 36 seconds off the Texan’s lead in his blistering victory in yesterday’s time-trial, and he pressed home the advantage in the 13th stage today, a 197.5km run from Toulouse to Ax in the Pyrenees.