15:13 CEST
Ullrich takes a swig from his bottle, rests the legs a
bit, and continues. He's pedaling at about 90-95 rpm, his
usual time trialling cadence.
15:35 CEST
Ullrich is continuing to ride at the same tempo, as he
goes under 10 km to go. We'll see if Der Kaiser realises a
fast time today. It should be much better than his first
stage, where he was 80th.
15:37 CEST
Ullrich has smashed Pinotti's time after 41.5 km, by 40
seconds! So he's obviously picked it up in the last 10 km
or so. Yes, now he does have the big gear going.
15:41 CEST
Ullrich has it in what looks like the 13 on the back,
riding well above 50km/h as he nears the finish.
15:44 CEST
Ulrich takes the last two corners, and hits the final
kilometre. Meanwhile, Bettini is making his way up to the
finish at a slightly more leisurely pace, his gold shoes
visible from a mile off. He finishes in 1:04:07.
--
Michael Press