Tour de France: The soap opera begins – Ullrich crashes; surprise tests

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What could have been a pre-Tour de France tragedy has become almost laughable.

Jan Ullrich crashed into the rear window of a T-Mobile team car Friday, the BBC reports. Ullrich is the '97 Tour de France winner and one of Lance Armstrong's most outspoken challengers. 

The windshield shattered, but fortunately Ullrich received only “superficial cuts” and will be able to race beginning Saturday.

Is Ullrich so focused on beating Armstrong that he's included a crash into his training regimen? Armstrong crashed on a training ride a couple of weeks ago near Nice, splitting his helmet and giving himself a black eye.


CyclingNews reports that Armstrong was the sole subject of a French ministry random anti-doping test Friday afternoon. All the Tour de France riders received blood tests on Thursday, and all passed.

Armstrong is acknowedged as being one of the most frequently tested athletes. Two UCI representatives and two officials from the French Ministry of Sport and Youth administered the tests.



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