Yahoo! Sport | Ullrich toasted for destroying Armstrong

"Jan Ullrich runs them all off the road -- a sensational triumph!" cheered Bild, the country's top-selling daily. Pictures of the German Bianchi rider in his turquoise and white team colours dominated the front and back pages on Saturday.

"Ullrich humbles Armstrong," wrote the Berliner Kurier. "An incredible 96 seconds faster than Armstrong. Jan is back!"

Since 1998, the 1997 Tour winner had not won a Tour stage and had made headlines more for his partying and traffic offences rather than for his sporting feats.

A year ago his career hit rock bottom after a doping ban for Ecstasy and a knee injury that sidelined him for months. He also put on weight and looked doomed to play second fiddle forever to Armstrong.

But his victory in Friday's 47 km time trial at Cap Decouverte signalled a renaissance for the 29-year-old, who has never finished lower than second in five Tours.