Ullrich says he is ready for Tour de France win

Jun 25, 2006, 19:45 GMT

Hamburg - Jan Ullrich is ready to win the Tour de France a second time.

The German star, who won the tour in 1997 but then had to settle for second place five times, told the Bild am Sonntag (BaMS) Sunday paper that he has prepared well and still sees a margin for improvement after his Tour de Suisse title last week.

'It (the form) is very good. The Tour de Suisse was the right event for the final preparation and victory there the icing on the cake. But I hope I can improve even more,' Ullrich said.

'My good form came earlier than in the past and I could work on the fine-tuning, for instance looking after my injured knee and my back. The form came in January and February,' he said.

Ullrich said the 2006 edition of the tour July 1-23 with two time trials and difficult mountain stages in the Pyrenees and Alps suits him well. He said he expects a lot of help from his T-Mobile team- mates, most notably from Andreas Kloeden, Oscar Sevilla and Giuseppe Guerini on the tough climbs.

Looking at his main rivals, Ullrich admitted that Italian CSC captain Ivan Basso won the Giro d'Italia in impressive style but that it remained to be seen whether Basso could win the tour after placing second last year and third in 2004.

'The riders are stronger at the tour. The riding is different and much faster. Basso won't be able to dominate in the same way. I for instance will try to prevent that,' said Ullrich.

Ullrich also says he expects 'a hectic and and complex' tour after the retirement of seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, whose Discovery Channel team fully controlled the action over the years.

'I don't know if we will see that again,' said Ullrich. 'My team is strong and we want to fight for victory.'