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Stage 15:
Lance Armstrong 04:40:30
Jan Ullrich +00:00:03
Lance wins by three seconds in a mountain stage
Stage 10:
They both finished +00:05:19 behind the leader in a mountain stage
Stage 11:
Same thing
Stage 13:
Lance won the stage, Ullrich was sixth just two minutes behind in one of the biggest mountain stages
Stage 16:
Lance Armstrong 00:39:41
Jan Ullrich +00:01:01
Lance wins by 1 minute in a time trial (Ullrich finished second)
The last time trial in the 2003 Tour, Ullrich could have surpassed Armstrong except he fell and then Armstrong could coast in.
The reason Armstrong wins is because he is in better shape and doesn't use X, but Ullrich has the same strengths as Armstrong in Tour competiton. I can't find the other time trial results, but Ullrich is always right behind Armstrong in both type of events. Is it not unheard of to be "one of the best" time trialists and climbers? Only the best?
And you're not considering that Lance Armstrong isn't one of the best time trialists in the world. The best don't show up at the Tour de France because they are time trialists, not month-long-1000's of miles type racers. Just look at the Olympics, Lance barely shows up there but the gold medal time trialists don't show up at the Tour de France.
Its like comparing the kicks of a 10,000 meter runner with an 800 runner. Say Mr. 10,000 can run the last 200 meter faster than any other 10,000 runner, that doesn't mean he can run it faster than the 800 runner can.
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