"A change of guard is long overdue," Ullrich told Germany's Men's Health magazine when asked about the odds of beating six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
"If I look at the past, I think I could have often had a better result than I ended up having. I can't afford to squander any more chances. I don't want to look back in 10 years and see that I beat myself in the Tour de France in my best years because I did something wrong."
So far this year, it appears the 31 year-old has done everything right, watching what he ate in the off-season, riding a select handful of races up till now, and only exerting himself when the situation demanded it. However, in his last race at the Tour de Suisse, Ullrich's form was still a little off, even though he won a time trial stage and finished third overall.
"Lance has dominated the Tour for the last six years and whoever beats him is going to be the greatest," Ullrich said. "A true sportsman always wants to beat the best. This year's duel will be the most exciting because this is his last Tour.
"He's dominated the race for the last six years and broken the records of the century," he told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. "I want to beat the best to be the best of the best. That's my motivation - this is the last chance."
While local headlines on Ullrich this week have been dominated by his recently announced relationship with new girlfriend, Sara Steinhauser, who he says is "head over heels in love" with, the 1997 Tour winner also admitted to making some mistakes in the past.
"I didn't know any better, I didn't have the experience," he said. "I've grown up. Only now do I see the mistakes that I made earlier. I was young and foolish - just not a 100 percent professional as [I am] now."
