Ullrich Climbs Back Into Contention

They rode alone for 90 minutes with no other cyclists in sight.

And when Tuesday’s ride through the Alps was finished, Marco Pantani of Italy still had the leader’s yellow jersey and defending champion Jan Ullrich showed he has plenty of fight left.

The stirring ride to the site of the 1992 Winter Olympics came on a day when the drug scandal surrounding the Tour grew wider.

A third team was implicated after police seized suspect medication in a van driven by the Bigmat team.

The top-ranked Festina team already has been expelled, and the Dutch TVM team is being investigated for supplying banned substances.

Two former Festina cyclists, Emmanuel Magnien and Gilles Bouvard, were released by police Tuesday, a day after being held for questioning.

Ullrich, rebounding after a poor day, edged Pantani by less than two inches to win the 16th stage.

“I wanted to show I was still here,” he said. “It was important for the future.”

Pantani and Ullrich raced the last 37 miles together. They first raced up most of the 13-mile Madeleine peak. Then they covered the last 24 miles downhill at speeds approaching 60 mph.

Ullrich had lost nearly nine minutes to Pantani on Monday and wanted to cut into the Italian’s advantage on a leg featuring five climbs.

Only on the final flat stretch of more than six miles did Pantani share the pace-setting with Ullrich. In the closing sprint, Ullrich edged Pantani at the line.

Bobby Julich of the United States, who was second to Pantani at the start of the stage, finished 1 minute 49 seconds behind to retain second place overall, 14 seconds ahead of Ullrich.

He was third on the day, finishing in the group with Fernando Escartin of Spain.

“I struggled a little on the Madeleine,” Julich said. “Then I was cramping on the downhill but I pushed the pace at the end to save my second.”

Julich trails by 5:42 in the overall standings with Ullrich at 5:56. At the beginning of the day, he had led Ullrich by 2:03.

Today’s 17th stage is the last full day in the Alps. The 93-mile leg to Aix les Bains features three climbs but ends with a long downhill.