Jan Ullrich humbled Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France today, beating the four-times Tour champion and overall race leader in a 47 km 12th stage time trial between Gaillac and Cap Decouverte.
The 29-year-old German, who clocked 58 minutes and 32 seconds, had not won a timed test on the Tour since 1998 and looked as impressive as in 1997 when he won his only Tour to date.
The win was all the more significant as Armstrong, beaten in the first big time trial of last year's Tour by Colombian Santiago Botero, had called Friday's stage 'the most important time trial of my career'.
But the Texan, bidding for a record-equalling fifth Tour victory, had to be content with second place, 1:35 behind the Bianchi team leader, who missed last year's Tour because of a knee injury and a doping ban.
Kazakhstan's Alexander Vinokourov was third, two minutes and five seconds off the pace.
It was Ullrich's fifth victory in a Tour timed test, after St Emilion in 1996, St Etienne in 1997 and both 1998 time trials in Correze and Le Creusot.
Despite the loss, Armstrong retained his overall leader's yellow jersey, with a 35-second lead over Ullrich.