Thousands of jubilant, flagwaving Germans packed Bonn's main square yesterday to acclaim Tour de France victor Jan Ullrich. The first German to win the world's greatest cycle race seemed taken by surprise at the hero's welcome he received a day after his triumph on the Champs Elysees.

"I didn't expect there would be so many people," said Ullrich (23). "It's very touching."

An estimated 10,000-strong crowd had waited for him on a sunny morning on Bonn's Marktplatz, overlooked by the city's monumental town hall.

The last German to have worn the Tour leader's yellow jersey was Klaus Peter Thaler in 1978.