We were having this discussion on a long run this morning. Do you think that Rasmussen sucked because he was trying so hard to hold of Ullrich or did he just completely cave under the pressure. We figured that he should have gone conservatively for the first section of the course then hammered the hilly section (his strength) without any regard for Ullrich catching him (this was inevitable) and attempted to stay in the top 5. A good strategy might have been to try not to get passed by Lance. We’re all experts the day after the race 
I’m betting it was lack or preparation. Since he never planned on the TT counting for anything, he probably never rode the course and rarely rode his TT bike.
Also, note that he is only 8 seconds out of 5th place. So it’s really not a question whether or not he was trying to stay in the top 5. He just couldn’t have counted on the bike changes and crashes. Without those he certainly would have been there.
-C