Jan Ullrich (born December 2, 1973, in
RostockRostock is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is located on the Warnow river; the quarter of Warnemünde 12 km north of the city centre lies directly on the coast of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:Rostock is located nearly centrally on...
, East Germany) is a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
former professional road bicycle racer. In 1997, he was the first German to win the
Tour de FranceThe Tour de France is an annual bicycle race that covers approximately throughout France and bordering countries. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages. Individual times to finish each stage are totalled to...
. He went on to take five second places and a fourth in 2004 and third in 2005. He is considered one of the best time-trialists in the history of the sport. In 2006, Ullrich was barred from the Tour amid speculation of having
dopedIn sports, the use of performance-enhancing drugs is commonly referred to by the disparaging term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of...
. He retired in late February 2007.
Ullrich won a gold and a silver in the
2000 Summer OlympicsThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 16 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney. He also won the 1999
Vuelta a EspañaThe Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar.-History:...
. Although not a one-day specialist, he won the HEW Cyclassics in front of a home crowd in
HamburgHamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the sixth-largest city in the European Union...
in 1997, and had podium finishes in the hilly classic
Clásica de San SebastiánThe Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa - Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián is a cycle race that has been held every summer since 1981 in Spain...
. His victorious ride in the
1997 Tour de FranceThe 1997 Tour de France was the 84th Tour de France, it took place July 5–27, 1997. Jan Ullrich's victory margin, of 9' 09" was the largest margin of victory since Laurent Fignon won the 1984 Tour de France by 10' 32"...
led to a bicycle boom in Germany.
Early training
Ullrich won his first bicycle race at 11. He was educated in the sports training system of the
German Democratic RepublicThe German Democratic Republic was a Communist state that originated from the Soviet Zone of occupied Germany and the Soviet sector of occupied Berlin...
attending the KJS sports school in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1986. In 1988, he was champion of the
German Democratic RepublicThe German Democratic Republic was a Communist state that originated from the Soviet Zone of occupied Germany and the Soviet sector of occupied Berlin...
. The school closed two years after the fall of the
Berlin wall|-||-||-||-||}The Berlin Wall was a physical barrier erected by the German Democratic Republic completely encircling West Berlin, separating it from East Germany, including East Berlin. The longer inner German border demarcated the border between East and West Germany...
in 1989. He, his trainer Peter Sager, and teammates joined an amateur club in Hamburg until 1994. In 1991, he was 5th in the amateur cyclo-cross world championships.
In 1993, at the Hamburg club, Ullrich won the world amateur road championship in
Oslois the capital and largest city in Norway. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the town was largely destroyed by a fire in 1624. The Danish–Norwegian king Christian IV rebuilt the city as Christiania . Oslo, then an alternative name, became official again in 1925...
, as
Lance ArmstrongLance Edward Armstrong is an American professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam . He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support....
won the professional championship.
Early professional career
In 1994 with Becker as his agent, Ullrich turned professional for the Telekom team under
Walter GodefrootWalter Godefroot is a retired Belgian professional road bicycle racer and former directeur sportif of , later known as T-Mobile Team, a professional cycling team...
. He finished third behind
Chris BoardmanChris Boardman is a former English racing cyclist who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and broke the world hour record three times as well as wearing the yellow jersey on three separate occasions at the Tour de France. He is known as a specialist in the individual...
in the world time trial championship in
SicilySicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous region of Italy. Several much smaller islands surrounding it are considered to be part of Sicily....
.
Ullrich was inconspicuous in his first 18 months as a professional . In 1995 he became national
time trialIn many racing sports an athlete will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. In cycling, for example, a time trial can be a single track cycling event, or an individual or team time trial on the road, and either or both of the latter may form components of...
champion. He also achieved top ten placings on stages of the 1995
Tour de SuisseThe Tour de Suisse is a UCI ProTour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Dauphiné Libéré, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
. At 21 he wanted to start the 1995
Tour de FranceThe Tour de France is an annual bicycle race that covers approximately throughout France and bordering countries. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages. Individual times to finish each stage are totalled to...
but Godefroot thought it was early. Instead he went to the small German stage race, the Hofbrau Cup, where he ended 3rd. Ullrich started the Vuelta later that year only to abandon on stage 12.
1996 Tour de France
Ullrich gave up a place in the 1996 German Olympic team to ride his first Tour. He finished the prologue 33 seconds down. He stayed within the top 20 until the mountains on stage 7 when
Miguel Indurainthumb|Miguel Indurain [[1993 Tour de France ]].Miguel Ángel Indurain Larraya is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. He is best known for winning the Tour de France from 1991 to 1995, becoming only the fourth person to win the event five times, and the first to win five in a row...
cracked. Ullrich finished 30 seconds back, 22 behind his teammate
Bjarne RiisBjarne Lykkegård Riis , nicknamed the Eagle from Herning , is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer who won the 1996 Tour de France, and is now the team owner and manager of Danish UCI ProTour outfit Team Saxo Bank...
while Indurain finished four minutes down. On the following stage, he finished in the same group as Indurain 40 seconds behind Riis. On stage 9, Riis rode into the yellow jersey while Ullrich finished 44 seconds back and also into 5th place overall 1 minute 38 seconds from Riis.
Over the final mountains, Ullrich rode into second place behind Riis, but he conceded time on each mountain stage, eventually being nearly four minutes behind Riis. He won the final
individual time trialAn individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
and secured his first Tour stage win. He cut 2 minutes 18 seconds into Riis's lead . This led Indurain to comment that Ullrich would win the Tour some day, adding that it was a remarkable victory considering that Ullrich had been helping Riis. Ullrich dismissed suggestions he would have done better if he had not had to help Riis, saying Riis had inspired the team. Jan finished his first tour in second place at 1 minute 41 seconds from his teammate
Bjarne RiisBjarne Lykkegård Riis , nicknamed the Eagle from Herning , is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer who won the 1996 Tour de France, and is now the team owner and manager of Danish UCI ProTour outfit Team Saxo Bank...
.
1997 Tour de France
Ullrich had two wins before the 1997 Tour; a stage in the
Tour de SuisseThe Tour de Suisse is a UCI ProTour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Dauphiné Libéré, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
and the national Road Race championship a week before the tour. He became favorite in the
1997 Tour de FranceThe 1997 Tour de France was the 84th Tour de France, it took place July 5–27, 1997. Jan Ullrich's victory margin, of 9' 09" was the largest margin of victory since Laurent Fignon won the 1984 Tour de France by 10' 32"...
. He started strongly, finishing second in the prologue behind
Chris BoardmanChris Boardman is a former English racing cyclist who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and broke the world hour record three times as well as wearing the yellow jersey on three separate occasions at the Tour de France. He is known as a specialist in the individual...
. On stage 9, the first mountain stage which was won by
Laurent BrochardLaurent Brochard is a retired professional road racing cyclist from France. In 1997 he won a stage of the Tour de France and became World Road Racing Champion in San Sebastián, Spain....
, Ullrich worked for Riis. Only on the last ascent when
Richard VirenqueRichard Virenque
[Richard Virenque's name is pronounced Ree-shah Vee-rahnk. Virenque considers himself a man of the South but pronounces his name in standard French. Confusion is caused by the southern habit of pronouncing "en" as "ang" or "eng", making it Vee-rank...]
attacked did Ullrich react. Riis struggled to keep up and finished 30 seconds behind Virenque,
Marco PantaniMarco Pantani was an Italian road racing cyclist widely regarded as being one of the best climbers of all time in professional road bicycle racing. The zenith of his career was winning both the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia in 1998...
and Ullrich. On stage 10 from Luchon to Andorra Arcalis, with Riis again falling back, Ullrich dropped back to the teamcar to ask permission to attack. He returned to the lead group and pushed up the climb leaving Pantani and Virenque. He finished a minute ahead which earned his first
yellow jerseyThe general classification in the Tour de France is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the Yellow jersey -History:...
.
L'ÉquipeL'Équipe is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sports. The paper is noted for coverage of football , rugby, motorsports and cycling...
, greeted Ullrich with
Voilà le Patron ("Here is the boss"). Ullrich won the Stage 12 time trial with three minutes between himself and the second placed rider, Virenque, who had started three minutes in front of him.
Marco PantaniMarco Pantani was an Italian road racing cyclist widely regarded as being one of the best climbers of all time in professional road bicycle racing. The zenith of his career was winning both the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia in 1998...
attacked on the stage to the
Alpe d'HuezAlpe d'Huez is a ski resort at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Alps, in the commune of Huez, in the Isère département.-Tour de France:...
. Ullrich, who was nine minutes ahead of Pantani overall, limited his losses to 47 seconds. Pantani attacked again on the Morzine stage and won, while Ullrich again limited his losses. In the final time trial, won by
Abraham OlanoAbraham Olano Manzano ,Gipuzkoa is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. His crowning achievement came in 1995 when he became World Road Champion...
, Ullrich extended his lead over Virenque and the following day became the first German to win the
Tour de FranceThe Tour de France is an annual bicycle race that covers approximately throughout France and bordering countries. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages. Individual times to finish each stage are totalled to...
. At 23, Ullrich was the fourth youngest winner of the Tour since 1947. Two weeks later, he won the Hews Cycling Classic in Hamburg. A further two weeks later Ullrich was beaten by
Davide RebellinDavide Rebellin is an Italian road bicycle racer, riding for UCI Professional Continental team Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli. He is most known in the cycling world for his 2004 season, when he won an unprecedented and unrepeated treble with wins in Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche...
in a sprint in the GP Suisse. He was chosen "sports person of the year" in Germany in 1997.
1998 Tour de France
Ullrich was defending champion in 1998. He took the yellow jersey on stage 7, a time trial, over 58 km of undulating roads. But several stages later,
Marco PantaniMarco Pantani was an Italian road racing cyclist widely regarded as being one of the best climbers of all time in professional road bicycle racing. The zenith of his career was winning both the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia in 1998...
blew the Tour apart with a victory which began on the Galibier. Ullrich was without support when Pantani attacked. Pantani topped the Galibier alone. It was misty and the roads were wet. The descent was dangerous and Pantani increased his lead. By the bottom of the final climb, Les Deux Alpes, Pantani had nearly four minutes. Telekom brought
Udo BöltsUdo Bölts in Rodalben is a retired German racing cyclist, the brother of Hartmut Bölts.Bölts is one of the most successful German cyclists, and from the beginning of his career he distinguished himself as a coureageous rider who liked to get into breakaways...
and then Riis to pace Ullrich. Pantani was race leader as he crossed the line. Ullrich finished almost nine minutes back, dropping to fourth six minutes behind Pantani.
Ullrich attacked on stage 16 on the Col de la Madeleine. Only Pantani could match him. Ullrich did all the work. Over the top, they started to work together. Ullrich won a photo-finish sprint and moved into third. He won the final stage, a 20 km time trial, and moved into second.
The Tour of 1998 was haunted by doping affairs, giving it the nickname "Tour de Dopage".
In the following year during the inaugural
Deutschland TourThe Deutschland Tour is the most important multi-stage road bicycle race in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June. Since 2005 it is part of the UCI ProTour and has been moved to August...
, Ullrich fell after getting entangled with
Udo BöltsUdo Bölts in Rodalben is a retired German racing cyclist, the brother of Hartmut Bölts.Bölts is one of the most successful German cyclists, and from the beginning of his career he distinguished himself as a coureageous rider who liked to get into breakaways...
during stage 3. He had a knee injury and could not ride the 1999 Tour, which ended in the first of seven victories for
Lance ArmstrongLance Edward Armstrong is an American professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam . He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support....
. Ullrich set his targets on the world time trial championship in October by riding the Vuelta.
1999 Vuelta a España
On the first mountain stage, Ullrich narrowly won against the defending
Vuelta a EspañaThe Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar.-History:...
champion
Abraham OlanoAbraham Olano Manzano ,Gipuzkoa is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. His crowning achievement came in 1995 when he became World Road Champion...
of Team ONCE in a group sprint that included
Frank VandenbrouckeFrank Vandenbroucke , was a Belgian professional road racing cyclist. He was the great hope of Belgian cycling in the 1990s but a remarkable talent which appeared in his adolescence in athletics and then in cycle racing dissipated in a succession of drugs problems, rows with teams, suicide...
,
Roberto HerasRoberto Heras Hernández is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer who won the Vuelta a España a record-tying three times. He broke the record with a fourth win in 2005, but was disqualified for taking EPO.-Early career:Heras turned professional in 1995 for the Spanish cycling team Kelme...
and
Davide RebellinDavide Rebellin is an Italian road bicycle racer, riding for UCI Professional Continental team Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli. He is most known in the cycling world for his 2004 season, when he won an unprecedented and unrepeated treble with wins in Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche...
. Olano took the leader's golden jersey with Ullrich second. Olano won the following stage, a time trial, with almost one minute over Ullrich and increased his lead in stage 8. On stage 11, Ullrich gained 30 seconds back on Olano. Ullrich took the lead on stage 12 won by
Igor González de GaldeanoIgor González de Galdeano Aranzabal is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer and current technical secretary at UCI ProTeam Euskaltel-Euskadi...
, Olano faltered due to a broken rib and finished seven minutes behind Ullrich. He later abandoned the race.
Gonzales de Galdeano had moved into second overall and became a threat to Ullrich. On stage 18
BanestoBanesto is a Spanish bank, 88.4% owned by Banco Santander. Ana Patricia Botín, daughter of Santander president Emilio Botín, chairs the bank...
and other Spanish teams tried to crack Ullrich, who struggled on the final climb but recovered to limit his losses to González. In the final time trial, Ullrich won by almost three minutes and built his overall lead to four minutes on González. Ullrich won his second major Tour. Several weeks later he became world time trial champion over Sweden's Michael Andersson and Briton
Chris BoardmanChris Boardman is a former English racing cyclist who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and broke the world hour record three times as well as wearing the yellow jersey on three separate occasions at the Tour de France. He is known as a specialist in the individual...
.
2000 - 2002 Tours
The
2000 Tour de FranceThe 2000 Tour de France was the 87th Tour de France, and took place from July 1 to July 23, 2000. It was won by American cyclist Lance Armstrong. The Tour started with an individual time trial in Futuroscope and ended traditionally in Paris. The distance travelled was 3630 km...
brought Ullrich, Marco Pantani and Armstrong against each other for the first time. Armstrong proved too strong and won then and again in 2001. Ullrich crashed in 2001 and Armstrong waited for him to return to his bike. Ullrich cited his failure to defeat Armstrong as why he fell into depression next year.
Ullrich rode well in the
2000 Summer OlympicsThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 16 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. After establishing a three-man break with Telekom teammates
Andreas KlödenAndreas Klöden is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . His major achievements include a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games and the second place in the 2004 Tour de France and 2006 Tour de France...
and Alexandre Vinokourov, Ullrich won the gold with Vinokourov second and Klöden rounding out the all-Telekom podium. He won the silver in the time-trial, losing by a small margin to
Viatcheslav EkimovViatcheslav Vladimirovich Ekimov , nicknamed Eki, is a Russian former professional racing cyclist...
but beating Armstrong into third.
In May 2002, Ullrich had his driver's license revoked after a drunk driving incident. After a positive blood sample for
amphetamineAmphetamine is a psychostimulant drug that is known to produce increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite. Amphetamine is related to drugs such as methamphetamine and dextroamphetamine, which are a group of potent drugs that act by increasing levels of...
in June 2002, Ullrich's contract with Team Telekom was ended, and he was banned for six months. He said he had taken ecstasy with amphetamine. He had not been racing since January due to a knee injury, and the
German Cycling FederationThe German Cycling Federation or BDR is the national governing body of cycle racing in Germany.The BDR is a member of the UCI and the UEC.-History:...
's disciplinary committee agreed that he was not attempting to use the drug for
performance enhancementIn sports, the use of performance-enhancing drugs is commonly referred to by the disparaging term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of...
, so he was given a minimum suspension.
In January 2003, Ullrich and his advisor
Rudy PevenageRudy Pevenage is a former Belgian cyclist, and later in his career team coach of cycling teams such as Histor, La William, Team Bianchi and T-Mobile Team....
joined Team Coast, but Coast pulled out after financial problems and
Team BianchiTeam Bianchi was a makeshift team that was put together from the remnants of the Coast team in time for the 2003 Tour de France.Team Coast had been unable to pay the salaries of their riders and Bianchi took over the team and the role of title sponsor. Coast had recently signed Jan Ullrich...
replaced it. Ullrich returned to racing in March 2003 .
2003 Tour and legendary act of sportsmanship
The
2003 Tour de FranceThe 2003 Tour de France started and ended in Paris. Lasting from July 5 to July 27 the race covered 3,350 km , proceeding clockwise in twenty stages around France, including six major mountain stages...
was the first for many years that Ullrich had not been considered a favorite. In the first week, Ullrich became sick and almost retired. He lost a minute and a half on Armstrong in the Alps. Ullrich fought back in the time trial. Armstrong had trouble with the heat and lost one and a half minutes to Ullrich. Ullrich was within a minute of Armstrong in the classification. The next day, he closed the gap by another 19 seconds in the first mountain stage. Two days later Ullrich rode away from Armstrong on the Tourmalet but Armstrong caught up. Half way into the climb, Armstrong's handlebar got caught in a spectator's yellow baseball cap waving in the mid-air and he fell. Ullrich waited for Armstrong to recover. Armstrong then caught the group and attacked shortly afterwards.
Ullrich lost 40 seconds in the final kilometers, but the final time trial would be decisive. In it, Ullrich crashed and saw a stage and Tour victory disappear. He ended second by 61 seconds.
Germany made Ullrich sportsman of the year. Commenting on Ullrich's wait for Armstrong to recover, Dan Boyle, of the Institute for International Sport said "It was an act that will live with him forever, cynics will say he lost money, but it was a highly commendable thing that he did."
2004 and 2005 Tour
For 2004 Ullrich returned to Team Telekom, now named
T-MobileT-Mobile is a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom and belongs to the FreeMove Business alliance.T-Mobile is a group of mobile phone corporate subsidiaries that operate GSM and UMTS networks in Europe and the United States. The T stands for Telekom. T-Mobile also has financial stakes in mobile operators...
. He won the
Tour de SuisseThe Tour de Suisse is a UCI ProTour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Dauphiné Libéré, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
. In the Tour de France, he finished fourth, 8:50 behind Armstrong, his first finish lower than second. Klöden finished second and
Ivan BassoIvan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with Italian UCI pro tour team Liquigas. Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field of the 2000s, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...
third.
For 2005, Ullrich again captained T-Mobile. He maintained a low profile for the early season, surfacing in the 2005
Tour de SuisseThe Tour de Suisse is a UCI ProTour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Dauphiné Libéré, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
, which he finished third behind
Aitor GonzálezAitor González Jiménez , is a former professional Spanish road bicycle racer, currently banned for two years for taking performance enhancing drugs....
and
Michael RogersMichael Rogers is an Australian professional road bicycle racer who rides for . Rogers turned professional in 1999 with Mapei, which became Quick Step. In 2005 Rogers joined and led it for the 2007 Tour de France.Rogers was part of the Australian Institute of Sport, which led him to live in...
.
The day before the 2005 Tour de France, Ullrich was training when his team car stopped unexpectedly. Ullrich hit the back window, ending up in the back seat of the car. Less than 24 hours later Ullrich was passed by Armstrong in the time trial. Ullrich fell again in the mountains, bruising his ribs. He could not keep up with Armstrong or
Ivan BassoIvan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with Italian UCI pro tour team Liquigas. Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field of the 2000s, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...
. Ullrich began focusing on finishing ahead of
Michael RasmussenMichael Rasmussen is a Danish professional road bicycle racer who last rode for the Dutch team Rabobank. In the 2007 Tour de France, Rasmussen, while in the yellow jersey, had his contract terminated by the Rabobank team and was removed from the Tour. The team cited internal code violations...
for a podium position. He rode a good second time trial, beating all but Armstrong. Rasmussen had several crashes and bike changes, which gave Ullrich a podium place in the Tour.
Post-Armstrong
Armstrong retired after the Tour in 2005. Ullrich decided to ride one or two more years. Early reports said Ullrich was in better shape than previous years and could be ready for his second victory in the Tour. Ullrich finished 115th in the Tour de Romandie on April 30. However, he injured his knee in the off-season, which could have limited his performance in the 2006 Tour, had he participated (see below).
In May, riding the
Giro d'ItaliaThe Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. It is one of the three Grand Tours, and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
to prepare for the Tour, Ullrich targeted the stage 11 50 km time trial, and won by 28 seconds over
Maglia RosaThe pink jersey is awarded to the leader of the General Classification at the Giro d'Italia. The leader of the GC is the rider who has the fastest time when all the stage results are added together, taking into account time bonuses for high finishes and intermediate sprints...
Ivan BassoIvan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with Italian UCI pro tour team Liquigas. Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field of the 2000s, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...
, who beat
Marco PinottiMarco Pinotti is an Italian road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam . Pinotti is a specialist of individual time trial, in which he is a four-time Italian Time Trial Champion .-Career:...
by another 33 seconds. Only five riders finished within two minutes of Ullrich.
Ullrich dropped out of the Giro during stage 19, with back pain. Rudy Pevenage said the problem was not bad but that Ullrich wanted to avoid Tour de France problems.
Ullrich won the
Tour de SuisseThe Tour de Suisse is a UCI ProTour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Dauphiné Libéré, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
for a second time, winning the final time trial and jumping from third to first.
Operación Puerto doping case
Ullrich was mentioned in the weeks before the
2006 Tour de FranceThe 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd Tour de France, taking place from July 1 to July 23, 2006. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of apparent winner Floyd Landis....
in a Spanish doping scandal, Operación Puerto. Ullrich denied the rumors. However on 30 June 2006, one day before the Tour, he was suspended from participating.
Ivan BassoIvan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with Italian UCI pro tour team Liquigas. Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field of the 2000s, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...
and other riders were also excluded. Ullrich maintains that he has nothing to do with Fuentes.
On 20 July 2006, Ullrich was fired from T-Mobile. General manager Olaf Ludwig announced the news during the 18th stage of the Tour between Morzine and Macon. Ullrich said his dismissal was 'unacceptable.'
- I am very disappointed that this decision was not communicated to me personally but that it was faxed to my lawyers. I find it shameful that, after so many years of good cooperation and after all I have done for the team, I am being treated as a fax number.
On 3 August 2006, doping expert
Werner FrankeWerner Franke is a professor of cell and molecular biology at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg.After completing high school , he studied chemistry, biology and physics at the University of Heidelberg...
claimed Ullrich purchased about
€The euro is the official currency of 16 of the 27 Member States of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone, are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain...
35,000 worth of doping products a year based on documents uncovered in the
Operación Puerto doping caseThe Operación Puerto doping case is a Spanish doping case against doctor Eufemiano Fuentes and a number of accomplices, started in May 2006...
. A German court imposed a
gag orderA gag order - commonly known in the UK as a gagging order - is an order, sometimes a legal order by a court or government, other times a private order by an employer or other institution, restricting information or comment from being made public.Gag orders are often used against participants...
on Franke after it found there was not enough evidence to link Ullrich to doping. On 14 September 2006, officials raided Ullrich's house and collected DNA material while Ullrich was honeymooning with his new wife Sara. On 4 April 2007, Ullrich's DNA sample, had "without a doubt" matched nine bags of blood taken from
Eufemiano FuentesDr Eufemiano Fuentes is a Spanish sports doctor best known for being implicated in the Operación Puerto doping case.Fuentes was once an athlete. He then became the team doctor of Team ONCE, Amaya and the Kelme. The former Kelme rider Jesús Manzano accused Fuentes of being involved with doping....
' office.
On 18 October 2006, Ullrich laid off his personal physiotherapist Birgit Krohme. Speculation rose that this was a sign that Ullrich had given up hope of returning to racing. Ullrich denied these rumors. On 25 October 2006, a document from the Spanish court on Ullrich's website stated that no charges would be filed.
On Monday, 26 February, 2007, Ullrich retired. At the press conference in Hamburg he said, "Today, I'm ending my career as a professional cyclist. I never once cheated as a cyclist." He said he would be an advisor to
Team VolksbankVorarlberg-Corratec is a professional continental cycling team based in Austria that participates in UCI Continental Circuits races and when selected as a wildcard to UCI ProTour events...
.
Ullrich bicycles
In May 2006 Ullrich launched Jan Ullrich Collection bicycles, which he helped to develop. The three models take their names from Ullrich's career.
Marriage
Ullrich lived in
MerdingenMerdingen is a town in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Merdingen's main industry are vinyards. Jan Ullrich was a notable resident until 2002....
, Germany, from 1994 to 2002 with his partner Gaby Weiss, with whom he had a daughter, Sarah Maria, on 1 July, 2003. They moved to Scherzingen,
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
, in 2002. Since separating in 2005, said to be because Weiss's reluctance to be in the limelight conflicted with Ullrich's celebrity life, Ullrich has continued to live in Scherzingen. Weiss returned with Sarah to Merdingen. In September 2006 Ullrich married Sara Steinhauser, sister of his former teammate and training partner,
Tobias SteinhauserTobias Steinhauser is a former German cyclist. He is the brother-in-law of Jan Ullrich.Steinhauser lives together with his wife and three children in Scheidegg, Bavaria....
. Their first child, Max, was born five weeks prematurely on 7 August 2007.
Quotes
- "I have seen many lean riders in the peloton, but very few Tour winners", in response to criticism about his weight.
- "My motivation doesn't come from rivals, but because I love cycling. That's what motivates me…. I don't get my motivation by putting the picture of my rival on the mirror"
- "Totally fucked up", replying to a journalist who asked him how he felt after winning stage 12 of the 2003 Tour de France
The 2003 Tour de France started and ended in Paris. Lasting from July 5 to July 27 the race covered 3,350 km , proceeding clockwise in twenty stages around France, including six major mountain stages...
.
Palmarès
1993
Amateur World Road Race Cycling Champion
1995
- National Time Trial Champion
1996
- Tour de France
The 1996 Tour de France was the 83rd Tour de France, starting on June 29 and ending on July 21, featuring 19 regular stages, 2 individual time trials, a prologue and a rest day ....
- 2nd place overall
-
Winner white jersey
- Winner stage 20
- Regio Tour
1997
- Tour de France
The 1997 Tour de France was the 84th Tour de France, it took place July 5–27, 1997. Jan Ullrich's victory margin, of 9' 09" was the largest margin of victory since Laurent Fignon won the 1984 Tour de France by 10' 32"...
-
Winner yellow jersey
- Winner white jersey
- Winner stages 10 and 12
- National Road Race Champion
- Luk Cup, à Bühl
- HEW Cyclassics
1998
- Tour de France
The 1998 Tour de France, also called the Tour de Dopage , was marred by doping scandals throughout known as the Festina affair, starting with the arrest of Willy Voet, a soigneur in the French Festina team. Voet was traveling into France when he was arrested and found with large quantities of...
- 2nd place overall
- Winner white jersey
- Winner stages 7, 16 and 20
- Rund um Berlin
The Rund um Berlin was a classic cycling race which was based around the German city of Berlin. It was the oldest cycling race in Germany until it disappeared in 2000. Although it was one of the oldest races in the world, its importance was merely restricted to Germany...
- Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt
Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held each September in the old town section of Nuremberg, Germany.- Women :The women's event is part of the UCI Women's Road World Cup.- Men :...
1999
- World Time Trial Cycling Champion
Winner Vuelta a EspañaThe Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar.-History:...
2000
Summer Olympics Road Race Champion
Summer Olympics ITT Silver Medal- Tour de France
The 2000 Tour de France was the 87th Tour de France, and took place from July 1 to July 23, 2000. It was won by American cyclist Lance Armstrong. The Tour started with an individual time trial in Futuroscope and ended traditionally in Paris. The distance travelled was 3630 km...
: 2nd place
- Coppa Agostoni
2001
- World Time Trial Cycling Champion
- National Road Race Champion
- Tour de France
The 2001 Tour de France was relatively difficult, with a number of heavy mountain stages, a team time trial and a climbing time trial. France was ridden 'clockwise', and thus the Alps were visited before the Pyrenees. The Tour started in France, but in the first week Belgium was visited as well...
: 2nd place
- Giro dell'Emilia
The Giro dell'Emilia is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is considered one of the most important classic bicycle races in Italy....
- Versatel Classic
2003
- Tour de France
The 2003 Tour de France started and ended in Paris. Lasting from July 5 to July 27 the race covered 3,350 km , proceeding clockwise in twenty stages around France, including six major mountain stages...
- 2nd place
- Winner stage 12
- Rund um Köln
The Rund um Köln is a classic cycling race which is based around the German city of Cologne. Since 2005 it is part of the UCI Europe Tour, being organised as 1.1 race in 2005 and 2006, becoming 1.HC in 2007. It is one of the oldest cycling races still running in Germany, just after Rund um die...
(Tour of Cologne)
2004
- Tour de France
The 2004 Tour de France was the 91st, taking place from July 3 to July 25, 2004. It consisted of 20 stages over 3429 km.Lance Armstrong became the first to win six Tours de France....
: 4th place
- Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse is a UCI ProTour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Dauphiné Libéré, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
: winner
- Coppa Sabatini
The Coppa Sabatini is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Province of Pisa, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour.-Winners:...
2005
- Tour de France
The 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd Tour de France, taking place from July 2 to July 24, 2005. It comprised 21 stages over 3607 km, the winner's average speed was 41.654 km/h. The first stages were held in the département of the Vendée, for the third time in 12 years. The 2005 Tour was...
: 3rd place
2006
- Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse is a UCI ProTour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Dauphiné Libéré, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
: winner
- Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. It is one of the three Grand Tours, and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
: Stage winner (time trial)
See also
External links
- Official Homepage
- Jan Ullrich at the Internet Movie Database
The Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, video games, and most recently, fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media...