Ullrich, who has three second-place finishes behind Armstrong, said: ``We tried everything. But Lance is so strong, just like last year. We tried to attack him, but you have to accept he is the strongest. The way he rides, the way his team rides. He deserves it.''
"My aim is obviously to finish third," Ullrich said after lopping 37 seconds off the gap which separates him from Rasmussen in Thursday's 18th stage from Albi to Mende.
With the gap now down to one minute and 12 seconds, Ullrich said: "I'm ready to fight for this. Rasmussen is a good rider but I think I can get him."
Ullrich, a time trial specialist, is particularly looking forward to Saturday's 55.5 km individual time trial around St Etienne.
"I took about two minutes off him in the opening time trial over 19 kilometres. I feel much better now as I have recovered from my two crashes," he said.
Armstrong came into this Tour as hungry and as well-prepared as ever, quickly silencing doubters who questioned his will and ability to win again at age 33. He distanced his rivals from the opening time trial and then built on his lead in the mountains.
``It's been smooth, smoother than I expected,'' said Armstrong. ``There's never really been a true panic within the team, within myself.''
Asked how he has managed to stay so focused for seven years, he replied: ``A love for the event and a hatred for losing the event.''
``I learned in 1999 that this race is bigger than any, greater than any,'' he added. ``I also learned what it's like to win it ... and how much happiness and joy it brings to myself and to an entire program and to a country really of non-cycling fans.''
On Saturday we'll see a Time Trial. Lance is the odds on favorite to win that penultimate stage, and watch Ullrich try to gain time on Rasmussen and get a podium place in Paris.
Note: the bridge in one of the images below is the world's tallest bridge, near Millau.
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