"I'm glad we have a cushion on these guys. One minute on Ullrich is something. It will allow us to ride conservatively," he said.
Armstrong was involved in two crashes on Friday but managed to avoid any serious incidents during the wet and windy first week, when he wore the leader''s yellow jersey for a day.
Ullrich, one of the few riders to have avoided crashing, also rode for two hours with his T-Mobile team yesterday. The 30-year-old, five times a Tour runner-up, has been impressed by his American rival. "He looks very strong. You can tell by the way he rides. But I feel good as well and if I have a chance to attack, I will," he said.
Riders from five teams were blood-tested by cycling union inspectors yesterday but all were declared fit today.
Meanwhile, former world cycling champion Sean Eadie has lodged an appeal against an alleged doping offence that could lead to his expulsion from the Olympics. Eadie's manager, Kerry Ruffels, said the Australian sprinter had written to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Sydney.
The Australian Olympic Committee-announced yesterday that Eadie had been issued with an infraction notice after it emerged he was caught importing human growth hormone into Australia five years ago.
Customs officers intercepted a package in January 1999 that was addressed to Eadie and contained anterior pituitary peptides, a subclass of peptide hormones that are both prohibited and undetectable.
However, he was allowed to continue-competing and won a bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics in the men's team sprint event before capturing the individual world title in 2002.
Eadie, 35, has denied the accusations, saying he has no knowledge of the package. "Never used them, never imported them, never even thought of them, or tried to import them or use them," he said. "It's against the very philosophy I have in sport."
