CYCLING/Tour De France: When Tour de France organisers sent the route into the mountains for the first time 94 years ago, there were fears the cyclists might be eaten by bears. Today their modern-day counterparts must deal with a little local wolf difficulty.

The start here this morning will be put back seven miles to avoid a demonstration by angry Alpine farmers, demanding action against the ravages of les loups among their flocks.

Hopes are high among Tour followers that Lance Armstrong will today suffer the two-wheeled equivalent of a wolf pack on the attack, although the chances that he will end the day gobbled up in pieces seem unlikely.

Jan Ullrich, who would be expected to lead the slavering horde, is currently more Red Riding Hood's grandmother than fearsome grey carnivore.

Yesterday, Ullrich faced the press at his hotel looking like a boxer after a bad night in the ring, with puffy face and a bruise on his forehead.

His 40mph somersault into a ditch during Sunday's stage into Mulhouse was heavier than it at first appeared, and he was taken to hospital for X-rays in the morning.

The German has no broken bones, contrary to what was initially rumoured and what he had feared, but has bruising and haematoma on his lower left back and ribs.

He was being treated with massage and acupuncture until 1am yesterday, which cannot bode well.

"The injuries could handicap him in the coming days," admitted his T-Mobile team doctor Lothar Heinrich.

The 1997 winner put a brave face on things. "I think I will be in order tomorrow. I'm glad I was able to finish yesterday and lost no time. I hope I will be as strong as before. I hope I can ride my race now and the soap opera is over."

Relentlessly positive, Ullrich insisted he felt lucky, even though the plane bringing him and T-Mobile south from Mulhouse had a fault and was 90 minutes late. Armstrong's was, predictably, on time.

Ullrich even managed to quip that "when the pain gets into your legs, you forget the pain everywhere else".

Given the way Armstrong made him suffer in the mountains last year, perhaps it was not a joke.

More telling perhaps was the sight, post-press conference, of Heinrich and the T-Mobile general manager, Walter Godefroot, in intense discussion, running the full gamut of body language from perturbed to clinically depressed.

Presumably they were not discussing the wolf issue or the weather, which has turned very hot.

If the Tour is not actually decided today and tomorrow, it will at least take shape.

Today's stage to Courchevel crosses the Cormet de Roselend pass before the 22km climb to the finish.

Both are rated first-category and top out around 6,000ft.

Tomorrow the super-category Cols de la Madeleine and du Galibier await.

If Ullrich is fit enough at least to shadow Armstrong, T-Mobile will be in a position to play their two wildcards: the Kazakh Alexandr Vinokourov, who finished third in 2003, and the German Andreas Kloden, last year's surprise runner-up.

Armstrong would then have to decide whether to use up his and his team-mates' strength in chasing them down, while knowing that Ullrich is waiting to make his move.

"Klodi" and "Vino" have already begun harassing Armstrong, if their attacks of Saturday on the Tour's opening climb, the Col de la Schlucht, are anything to go by.

Ullrich yesterday said the strong form of his co-leaders gave him new hope.

"I'm surprised that Kloden is so strong, but it's good for the team because we now have three men.

"It's good to have a team-mate like Vinokourov, we are both very strong and we must take advantage. If he attacks, it's better for me as well."

T-Mobile's directeur sportif, Mario Kummer, yesterday acknowledged that to win the Tour his team have to achieve two things today and tomorrow: Armstrong's team-mates must be left behind, as happened on Saturday, and then his three leaders can attempt to gain time on the Texan.

That, however, is easier said than done.

"Having three leaders is an advantage, we saw that on Saturday," said Kummer.

"At last we made it difficult for Armstrong. I believe Armstrong is worried about Jan and no one else. He can't control everyone, and in my opinion he will concentrate on Jan."

Vinokourov said: "We have managed to show Armstrong that we can attack him from all sides. The three of us have never before started the Tour together and it's a big advantage.

"I have never thought that Lance Armstrong is unbeatable, and perhaps we had a little hint of it the other day."

The next two days will show if Armstrong's "shitty day" - as he described his Saturday - was indeed a hint of weakness, or whether the Texan six-time winner is about to make a stronger statement of his own intent.

Guardian Service