GRENOBLE, France -- Tomorrow the Alps loom, but on Monday the riders of the 2005 Tour de France took a rest day after what six-time defending champion Lance Armstrong called a faster-than-usual first week of racing.

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The week has been "one of the fastest we've ever done," Armstrong told reporters after the race, predicted "there's going to be a major crash soon" because weary riders will lose concentration.

Armstrong surrendered the leader's yellow jersey after Sunday's ninth stage, finishing well behind stage winner Mickael Rasmussen, of Denmark. The Texan is now third overall, 2 minutes 18 seconds behind Germany's Jens Voigt. The loss of the overall lead isn't a major concern for Armstrong as the race moves into the Alps, where Armstrong historically does well.

"We felt like today we would give the jersey away," he told reporters after Sunday's 106.3-mile trek from Gerardmer to Mulhouse. On Tuesday the race makes a 119-mile climb from Grenoble to Courchevel, and Armstrong said he expected that stage to shake up the tour rankings again.

"Voigt is not their guy for the big mountains," Armstrong said

Armstrong's longtime rival, Jan Ullrich, of Germany, took a bruising to his ribcage after a hard fall on one descent. Doctors later took X-rays and examined the T-Mobile rider and declared him fit to ride; he did, heading out for a training ride Monday. The 1997 tour champion is now eighth in the overall general classification, 1 minute 36 seconds behind Armstrong.

David Zabriskie, of Utah, who held the leader's yellow jersey for the tour's first three days, spent Saturday's stage at the back of the pack and quit the race completely Sunday. After pedalling at the rear of the peloton for about 10 miles, he pulled over to the side of the road, surrounded by reporters and photographers.

"My body's just not recovering," he said later. "This is a bad moment in my life."

Zabriskie, of Team CSC, emerged from relative obscurity to GC leader during the opening time trial July 2. He held the lead for two more days, before crashing within site of the team trial finish on the fourth stage on July 5. The crash briefly slowed Team CSC, allowing the Discovery Channel team to win the event and place the yellow jersey on Armstrong's shoulders.

Stage 9 Results

1 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank
2 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Credit Agricole
3 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC
4 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone
5 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux
6 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
7 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner
8 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
9 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
10 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Lampre-Caffita

General Classification

1 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 32.18.23
2 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Credit Agricole -1.50
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel -2.18
4 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank
5 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team
6 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC
7 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC
8 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team
9 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC
10 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel