what Laggard means (if i may) is that Lance is the best Tour De France rider ever (in his opinion). He and everyone else knows that Lance forsakes many of the other classics to concentrate on the money race.
just like many NBA stars (patrick ewing, malone & stockton, barkley) never won the big one because michael jordan was around in the 90's, ullrich has had the good fortune of racing the TDF in the lance era.
but getting back, ullrich is hurt less with vino's absence because the mountain stages start and he is in good shape. it would have been even more devastating had vino dropped out before the TTT or some of the flat stages. (disclaimer: i am no race expert, its just my opinion based on my limited race expertise)