On a day that most reckoned would see Bjarne Riis consolidate his final victory and Indurain seek out some pre-Olympic form, Ullrich stole their thunder, chipping two minutes off his team leader's overall advantage and beating the Spanish time-trialing master by almost a minute. Meanwhile, Festina pairing Richard Virenque and Laurent Dufaux consolidated their strong positions on the overall classification, ensuring that France's favorite cyclist finished third overall (on a day which saw him beat demoralized world Hour Record holder Tony Rominger) while Dufaux's stunning ride saw him at one checkpoint ahead even of Indurain, although he faltered later in the test.
As at Val d'Isere, the early leader was Chris Boardman, after the Briton posted 1:18, certainly respectable enough, but not the time needed to take the stage win. Incredibly, Miguel Indurain's overall time deficit saw him start 11th from last, but it was soon apparent that the five-time Tour winner was back to something like his old self. The rhythm and power that so characterized his dominance of Tour time trialing in the past had returned, and anticipation mounted that he might finally rescue something of value from his disastrous Tour. But once Dufaux and then Ullrich were out on the course, that anticipation turned to disbelief as both were quicker than the Spaniard through the first checkpoint, after 24 kilometers, with Ullrich faster than the master by more than half a minute.
By now Bjarne Riis was on his way, but the Dane looked considerably less at ease on the flat roads through the Bordelais than he had on the climbs of the Alps and the Pyrenees. Momentarily, as Riis battled to spin a massive gear and threw away his aerodynamic helmet in discomfort, the thought dawned of a monumental Tour upset, on a par with that of 1989, as Ullrich's average speed nudged 52 kilometers per hour and he drew steadily ahead of his closest rivals.
But Riis rallied on the second part of the course, although he still lacked the stylishness and fluidity that had characterized his riding earlier in the race. "I don't know what it was," he said afterwards, "But my legs didn't really feel that good today. Maybe I was already thinking of Paris." There was no stopping Ullrich, and as Indurain paid him the highest of compliments when talking to the press assembled on the finish line, the red-headed German from Rostock stormed past the post to take the first major Tour success of his young career and join Riis and Zabel on Telekom's role call of success at this year's Tour.